182: Altar Anomaly, Battlefield of the Heavens
The altar was cold and damp, with the marks of time etched into every massive stone. Standing before the central groove, Ye Chen could clearly feel the intense longing and resonance coming from the chaos ancestral talisman, as if a wanderer had returned home, or a key had found its corresponding lock.
He didn't act immediately. His Divine Sense, like the most precise carving tool, carefully swept over every corner of the altar, especially that groove and the complex patterns surrounding it. The lines of the patterns were ancient and profound, completely different from any Formation school he knew, but their core essence was of the same origin as the chaos ancestral talisman, containing a Law of communication, guidance, and even... transcendence.
He didn't detect any obvious traps or Restrictions. The altar seemed to have merely been dormant for too long, waiting for the right person and key.
Ye Chen hesitated no longer. With a thought, the chaos ancestral talisman—composed of three fused ancestral rune fragments and glowing with restrained brilliance—slowly flew out from his Qi Sea and hovered above his palm. The ancestral talisman vibrated slightly, the Dao patterns on its surface flowing in cycles of birth and death, emitting a pure and ancient Chaos essence.
He carefully aligned the chaos ancestral talisman with the groove in the center of the altar and slowly pressed it down.
“Buzz—!!!”
At the moment the ancestral talisman fit perfectly into the groove, the entire altar jolted! The previously dim, moss-covered patterns suddenly erupted with brilliant Chaos radiance! The light flowed like living water along the tracks of the patterns, instantly lighting up the entire altar!
A surge of Chaos Qi, far grander and purer than ever before—as if originating from the very beginning of the Universe—erupted from the depths of the altar and soared into the sky! Even the thick, viscous mist surrounding them was forcibly pushed aside and dispersed by this aura, revealing the gray sky above!
Above the altar, space began to twist and fold violently, and a massive, rotating vortex-like passage composed of countless Chaos currents slowly took shape! The other end of the passage was not the pitch-black Void Realm, but a faint glimpse of various bizarre and surreal scene fragments—burning stars, shattered mountains and rivers, roaring behemoths, and sweeping Sword Qi... it seemed to connect to a vast and chaotic battlefield!
“Where... does this passage lead?” Ye Chen was shocked. The aura emanating from this passage was older and more tragic than the ancient battlefields he had experienced, and the level of the Laws it contained was also higher!
At the same time, he felt the chaos ancestral talisman in his hand resonating deeply with the altar and the passage, and a large amount of information fragments flooded into his Sea of Consciousness:
“Battlefield of... All Heavens...”
“Collision of... Laws...”
“Guixu... Trial...”
“Path of... Legacy...”
The information was fragmented, yet it pointed in a clear direction—this passage led to a terrifying place called the “Heavens Battlefield”! It was the ultimate killing field where countless Realms, civilizations, and powerhouses clashed, a furnace where Laws collided and Daos competed! Similarly, it contained endless dangers and... Opportunities that transcended this world!
The mission of the chaos ancestral talisman seemed to be closely related to this battlefield!
Just as Ye Chen was digesting this information and weighing whether to step into this unknown passage—
“Boom!!!”
The seawater below suddenly exploded! An indescribably massive shadow rose abruptly from the deep sea! It was a terrifying giant claw covered in dark-golden scales, as large as an island, carrying the horrific power to crush stars as it slammed down toward the altar and the passage above! Before the giant claw even arrived, its mountain-like pressure had already solidified space and sent the seawater backward!
Tiangang Realm! And it was a Tiangang Realm far beyond the previous Blood-Robed Demon Clan Member and the White Bone Demon General! It was likely a terrifying existence at the Middle Stage or even Late Stage of the Tiangang Realm! To think such a monster was hidden within this Mist Sea! It had clearly been disturbed by the burst of Chaos aura when the altar was activated!
The power of this single claw was enough to easily destroy the previous Green Jade Island! If it landed, not only would the altar be lost, but even the newly formed passage might collapse!
Ye Chen's pupils constricted! Faced with the attack of such an existence, he felt as tiny as an ant! He was completely powerless to resist!
However, at this critical moment—
The rotating Chaos passage seemed to sense the external attack and threat and jolted! The entrance of the passage suddenly expanded, and a more majestic and primal current of Chaos Qi surged out like a bursting flood, instantly transforming into an equally massive gray palm composed of pure Chaos Qi, which slammed toward the dark-golden claw!
“Thump—!!!!!!!”
An indescribable roar erupted! It was as if two worlds had collided! A terrifying energy shockwave spread out in a ring, instantly clearing the mist for dozens of miles. The sea surface below was forced into a massive depression a thousand feet deep, exposing the seabed rock layers, which let out a groan as they were overwhelmed!
The giant Chaos palm and the dark-golden claw collided fiercely, annihilating and eroding each other! The power of Laws clashed frantically at the point of impact, and space shattered inch by inch, revealing the even more chaotic turbulent flows of the Void Realm behind it!
The existence in the deep sea let out a painful and angry roar. The scales on the dark-golden claw exploded, and lava-like golden blood flowed out as it quickly retracted into the deep sea. Its aura instantly receded, seemingly having suffered a significant loss.
As for the giant Chaos palm, after repelling the powerful enemy, its power was exhausted, and it slowly dissipated. However, the passage remained stable, and its rotation speed even increased slightly, as if urging him on.
Ye Chen stood on the altar. Although he was protected by the power of the chaos ancestral talisman and the altar and remained unaffected, the world-destroying collision just now still shook his mind and gave him a new understanding of power.
There was no time to hesitate! The commotion from the altar's activation was too great; it had not only attracted a deep-sea monster but would likely attract other unknown existences! He had to leave immediately!
He glanced at the rotating Chaos passage and then at the still-brilliantly-shining chaos ancestral talisman in his hand, a look of determination flashing in his eyes.
Opportunities and risks coexist! This Heavens Battlefield might be a shortcut for him to quickly increase his strength, clarify the mission of the chaos ancestral talisman, and find a way back to the Tianyan Continent!
He no longer delayed. With a move of his body, he transformed into a streak of light and unhesitatingly shot into the surreal Chaos passage!
“Buzz—!”
The moment his figure vanished into the passage, the light of the altar suddenly went out, the patterns returned to their dim state, and the massive Chaos passage rapidly contracted and dissipated. The surrounding mist closed in again, once more enveloping this sea area in silence and mystery, as if nothing had ever happened... Then, a familiar yet even more intense sensation of spatial tearing arrived. But this time, Ye Chen's feeling was entirely different.
Having fused three ancestral rune fragments and condensed the heart of chaos, the strength of his Physical Body and Divine Soul had already undergone a qualitative leap. The spatial turbulence that could tear apart an ordinary Tiangang Realm cultivator struck his Chaos Domain; though it still pressured him, it could no longer truly threaten his foundation.
He could even spare a portion of his mind to carefully perceive the higher-level and more complex Law fragments flowing within this passage. Destruction, Creation, Time, Space, Karma... countless distinct and even conflicting Law essences intertwined and collided in this passage, forming a vast and grand ocean of Laws.
His heart of chaos pulsed slowly, greedily absorbing and analyzing these scattered Law fragments, integrating them into his own Dao of Chaos. His understanding of Chaos giving birth to all things deepened at an unprecedented speed.
After traveling through the passage for an unknown amount of time, the surreal scenes ahead gradually became clear and stable.
It was an incredibly vast, desolate, and dilapidated land.
The sky was dark red, filled with unhealing spatial rifts and the remains of some massive creatures. On the ground, ravines crisscrossed, and bottomless craters and collapsed mountain ranges could be seen everywhere. Countless bizarre corpses emanating powerful auras were piled like mountains—some as massive as star fragments, others retaining humanoid or other intelligent race forms. Broken weapons, wreckage of warships, and shattered Magic Treasures... covered every corner of the field of vision.
The air was thick with the smell of blood and gunpowder that wouldn't dissipate, along with the energy residues of countless different attributes—chaotic and violent, yet carrying a sense of desolation and tragedy. The space here was extremely stable, but it was also filled with fine cracks, with chaotic energy storms sweeping through from time to time.
This was the Heavens Battlefield!
Ye Chen's figure fell from the passage, landing steadily on a relatively high hill piled with the wreckage of some metallic warship. He restrained all his aura and vigilantly observed his surroundings.
Silence. Aside from the whistling energy storms, no sound could be heard. But the omnipresent killing intent and tragic aura were more soul-shaking than any sound.
He could feel that the energy levels remaining in this battlefield were extremely high, many exceeding the Tiangang Realm and perhaps even touching upon higher Realms. Any relatively intact corpse had likely been a powerhouse who commanded a region during their lifetime.
This place was a graveyard for the strong, but also... a treasure trove of Opportunities!
Suddenly, from far to his left, about a hundred miles away, came a clear wave of energy collision! Immediately after, a blazing golden light pillar soared into the sky, accompanied by a roar full of divinity and majesty! But in the next moment, a darker black lightning bolt filled with destructive aura flashed by, forcibly shattering the golden light pillar, and the roar came to an abrupt halt!
A battle! And the level of the two sides fighting definitely exceeded the Tiangang Realm!
Ye Chen's heart tightened, and he immediately restrained his aura to the extreme, as if turning into a stubborn rock. In a place like this, a moment of carelessness could result in being caught in the aftershocks of a terrifying battle, dying without knowing why.
He lay behind the metallic wreckage, not daring to extend his Divine Sense too far, only carefully sensing the movements around him.
Just then, the chaos monitoring compass in his breast pocket sent out clear ripples once again! This time, it wasn't a warning of danger, but pointed toward a canyon shrouded in thick Death Qi, about dozens of miles to his front right!
At the same time, the chaos ancestral talisman within his Qi Sea also sent out a familiar, longing resonant thought!
There was something in that direction! Something related to the chaos ancestral talisman!
Ye Chen's eyes flashed. Opportunities often come with risks. In this unfamiliar Heavens Battlefield, he needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible, and the guidance of the chaos ancestral talisman was usually not wrong.
He hesitated no longer. After confirming the direction, his figure moved like a ghost, quietly weaving through the massive wreckage and ravines, sneaking toward the canyon filled with Death Qi.
A new journey officially began in this place where the blood of all heavens was shed.