252: All bones converge, the throne will soon be established.
The tremors in the Pool of Origin became increasingly violent. The Chaos-colored pool water was no longer calm, churning like boiling water. Those light-shadow fragments containing ancient memories collided and annihilated frantically amidst the turbulence, emitting heart-palpitating hisses. The originally gentle and inclusive pool water was now filled with irritability and unease.
Ye Chen was forced to awaken from his deep insights and Breakthrough. The infusion of pure Chaos Origin came to an abrupt halt, and the process of impacting the Realm was forcibly interrupted. The power within his body churned, a sweetness rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out another mouthful of blood. He suppressed the discomfort, withdrawing his Divine Soul power like a receding tide to tightly protect himself, resisting the increasingly violent impacts within the pool water.
"Valley of Buried Soldiers... it's the influence of the Valley of Buried Soldiers!" Ye Chen realized instantly. The source of that evil fluctuation resonating with the Pool of Origin was precisely the Valley of Buried Soldiers where the Demon Race tide was gathering! The Abyssal Lord had not yet arrived in person, but his methods had already shaken this ancient Holy Land from afar!
He dared not immerse himself in insights any longer; with a movement of his body, he prepared to rush out of the pool water.
Just then, that ancient Chaos will deep within the pool water sent another, more urgent and clearer fragment of information:
"Stop... it... Ten Thousand Skeletons Pay Homage... throne of bones... must not be formed..."
"Use Chaos... sever its roots... otherwise... all is lost..."
Ten Thousand Skeletons Pay Homage? throne of bones?
Ye Chen's mind shook violently. Combining this with the "throne of bones" mentioned in the previous whispers, a terrifying conjecture surfaced in his heart! The Abyssal Lord was driving the Demon Race tide to gather in the Valley of Buried Soldiers not merely to occupy a dangerous location, but to utilize the countless skeletons and broken weapons left behind from the ancient God Race and Demon Race wars to condense some kind of terrifying... throne of bones?! Once successful, his strength would likely recover to an unimaginable level, and he might even use this to completely break through the Ancient Path barrier!
He must stop it!
"Splash!"
Ye Chen broke through the water and landed on the bank. His aura was somewhat chaotic, and his face was slightly pale, clearly having suffered some backlash from the interrupted Breakthrough, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, burning with an urgent flame.
"Fellow Daoist Ye Chen, are you alright?" Qing Lin immediately stepped forward. Her expression was equally grim; the abnormalities in the Pool of Origin had also impacted her Divine Soul, which was connected to the ancient tree Origin.
"It's fine." Ye Chen shook his head, his gaze heavy and focused. "High Priestess, the situation has changed. The Abyssal Lord is condensing some kind of 'throne of bones' in the Valley of Buried Soldiers; we must go and stop him immediately! If he succeeds, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
"throne of bones?!" Qing Lin gasped. As the High Priestess of the Wood Spirit Clan, she had some knowledge of the ancient secrets of the Ancient Path. "It is rumored that deep within the Valley of Buried Soldiers, there is indeed the core of an ancient battlefield buried, where the Evil Qi and lingering resentment have never dissipated for eternity... If it were to be triggered and refined by the power of the abyss..."
She dared not continue thinking.
"I will immediately summon the clansmen who can still fight!" Qing Lin decided decisively.
"No." Ye Chen stopped her, his tone resolute. "There is no time, and this trip is exceptionally dangerous; ordinary clansmen going would only be sending themselves to their deaths. I will go alone; it will be faster."
He looked at Qing Lin and said in a deep voice, "The Forest Realm needs you to hold the fort, repair the barrier, and receive other reinforcements that may arrive. If I... fail to return, you must plan accordingly."
Qing Lin looked at the unquestionable determination in Ye Chen's eyes and knew that what he said was true. Given the strength and speed Ye Chen had previously displayed, going alone was indeed the best choice. She bit her lip, no longer insisting, and quickly took out a willow-leaf-shaped Talisman shimmering with silver light from her bosom.
"This is a 'Space-Breaking Talisman'; it can greatly increase speed for a short time and has a certain effect of breaking through spatial barriers. It might be useful to you." She pointed in a direction. "From here, head northwest and cross the 'Soul-Breaking Gorge'; it is the fastest path to the Valley of Buried Soldiers, but the spatial turbulence within the gorge is extremely violent, so please be extremely careful."
Ye Chen took the Space-Breaking Talisman, feeling the majestic spatial power contained within it, and nodded. "Thank you! I will leave this place to you, High Priestess!"
Having said that, he did not delay any further, his body shot into the sky, and at the same time, he crushed the Space-Breaking Talisman!
"Hum!"
Silver light exploded, and Ye Chen's figure was instantly enveloped by a layer of silver spatial power. His speed increased several times over, turning into a silver streak of light tearing through the sky, speeding away in the direction of the northwest Soul-Breaking Gorge!
Qing Lin watched his figure disappear into the horizon, her hands tightly clasped, silently praying.
...
The Soul-Breaking Gorge, true to its name.
On both sides were pitch-black cliffs that reached beyond sight, cut as smooth as mirrors. The gorge was not a passage, but filled with countless violent, colorful spatial rifts and turbulence! These turbulences were like invisible blades, wantonly cutting through everything. If an ordinary Law Realm expert were to intrude, they would be torn into pieces in an instant!
Ye Chen's body shone with silver light, and the power of the Space-Breaking Talisman formed a protective film, resisting most of the spatial cutting force. Like a fish, he wove through the dense spatial rifts, pushing his movement technique to the limit, narrowly avoiding those massive, deadly turbulence vortices.
His Divine Soul power was highly concentrated; he dared not have the slightest distraction. At the same time, he was constantly sensing the increasingly clear and terrifying evil fluctuation coming from the direction of the Valley of Buried Soldiers.
That fluctuation was like a giant heart beating; with every pulse, it caused the surrounding Law to wail, and countless wills of violence, resentment, and destruction spread from the direction of the Valley of Buried Soldiers like a tsunami!
He could even "see" a blurry, hair-raising scene:
Countless skeletons—God Race, Demon Race, and those of various ancient giant beasts... were being drawn by an invisible force from all directions of the Valley of Buried Soldiers, as if on a pilgrimage, converging toward the deepest part of the valley! There, a gigantic throne base, piled up from countless skeletons and broken divine weapons, had already begun to take shape!
Above the base, the dense, tangible Abyssal Devilish Qi fell like a black waterfall, frantically eroding and smelting those indestructible ancient skeletons and divine weapons! A kingly pressure that made even Ye Chen feel heart-palpitating was slowly condensing and being born upon that base!
What made his heart even heavier was that he felt a cold, vast, and malicious will that seemed to have detected his prying, like invisible tentacles crossing space, spreading toward the Soul-Breaking Gorge where he was!
It was the Abyssal Lord's will!
Although its true body might not have fully awakened or descended, its will had already enveloped the Valley of Buried Soldiers and had noticed him, this uninvited guest!
"It's too late... I must be faster!"
Ye Chen gritted his teeth. Regardless of the consumption, he frantically activated the Chaos Law, adding it to the silver light of the Space-Breaking Talisman, and his speed soared once again! Like a burning silver meteor, he slammed into the densest area of spatial turbulence ahead!
"Sss-sss-sss—!"
The silver protective light film rubbed violently against the spatial turbulence, emitting a harsh sound, and the light dimmed rapidly.
But he finally rushed out of the Soul-Breaking Gorge!
Before his eyes, it suddenly opened up, but the scene that entered his view made his pupils constrict and his mind shake!
It was a boundless, massive valley shrouded in dark red Evil Qi. In the valley, bones were like mountains, broken weapons were like forests, and endless resentment and Evil Qi formed a tangible gray mist.
And in the very center of this sea of corpses and weapons, a gigantic throne, ten thousand zhang high and constructed from countless ferocious skeletons and broken divine weapons, was already more than half complete! The entire throne presented a strange color interweaving dark gold and pitch black, radiating a darkness that swallowed all light and a terrifying pressure that dominated ten thousand skeletons!
Above the throne, a blurry shadow formed by extreme Abyssal Devilish Qi was slowly writhing and condensing, as if shaping some form!
And around the throne, dense, millions of Abyssal monsters were, like the most devout believers, prostrating and worshipping the throne. Strands of Devilish Qi emanated from their bodies, flowing into the throne, accelerating its condensation process!
Ten Thousand Skeletons Pay Homage, the throne of bones is about to be formed!
The Abyssal Lord was about to use this throne of bones, which had condensed the countless resentments and powers of the ancient battlefield, to descend here in an even more powerful posture!
Ye Chen's arrival was like a drop of cold water thrown into boiling oil, instantly breaking a certain balance.
The writhing shadow on the throne suddenly halted, and immediately, a terrifying aura of violence, anger, and endless destructive will, like a world-destroying beast awakening, slammed onto him!
"Chaos... insect... you... are courting death!!!"