55: The power of the ancient sword
In the secret chamber, the air seemed to congeal.
Ye Chen slowly straightened his body. The aura swirling around him was no longer pure Nirvana Sword Intent, but a more ancient, vast, and majestic Sword Dao that seemed to originate from the very beginning of Chaos.
In his eyes, stars revolved and runes flickered in and out of existence. He looked at Lin Batian and the Black Robe Leader with eyes devoid of emotion, possessing only the indifference of one looking down upon ants.
"What… what exactly are you?!" Lin Batian clutched his head, which felt as if it were splitting from intense pain. His voice was distorted by fear, and his wretched appearance, with blood flowing from his seven orifices, made him look hideous and terrifying.
That single glance just now had almost completely shattered his martial will!
The face beneath the Black Robe Leader's mask was also filled with shock. He stared fixedly at Ye Chen, his hoarse voice carrying unprecedented gravity: "This isn't right! This is not his power! It's some kind of ancient will possessing him! Be careful!"
Before his voice had even faded, Ye Chen moved.
Without using any movement techniques, he simply took a step forward.
Yet, with this step, the space within the entire secret chamber seemed to tremble.
An invisible field spread out with him as the center, enveloping both Lin Batian and the Black Robe Leader.
Within this field, the two felt their spiritual energy circulation instantly become sluggish and stagnant, as if they had fallen into a quagmire. Furthermore, a terrifying Sword Intent pressure descended from above, causing their bones to creak and making them almost kneel in submission!
"Playing god! Break for me!" The Black Robe Leader shouted sharply, forcefully raising his suppressed spiritual energy. The jet-black short blade in his hand erupted with a thick, ink-like sinister aura, transforming into black lightning that tore through the field, stabbing straight at the center of Ye Chen's brow!
This was a strike that condensed his entire cultivation, striving to break this bizarre suppression!
Facing this fierce offensive, Ye Chen (or rather, the ancient will dominating his body) merely raised his right index finger.
At his fingertip, a faint point of Chaos-colored light, which seemed as if it might extinguish at any moment, lit up.
The next moment, he pointed his finger gently at that bolt of black lightning.
There was no earth-shattering collision, no booming sound of energy impact.
That bolt of black lightning, which had condensed the Black Robe Leader's full strength and was capable of easily slaying an ordinary Kaiyuan Realm Late Stage Cultivator, dissolved and disintegrated silently the instant it touched that point of Chaos light, like snow thrown into a scorching sun, without even stirring a ripple.
"What?!" The Black Robe Leader's pupils constricted sharply, filled with extreme horror! This had completely exceeded his scope of understanding!
After shattering the black lightning, Ye Chen's fingertip did not stop; he made a gentle slashing motion through the air toward the Black Robe Leader.
"Hiss—!"
A minute, almost invisible thread of Chaos color appeared out of thin air and instantly swept across the Black Robe Leader's body.
The Black Robe Leader's movements abruptly froze. He lowered his head, looking at his own body in disbelief.
A fine line of blood slowly emerged from the center of his forehead, spreading downward, passing through his nose bridge, lips, throat, chest… all the way to his crotch.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could not make a sound.
The next moment, his body neatly split into two halves along that line of blood and slid to the left and right! Blood and internal organs spilled all over the floor, and a thick, bloody stench instantly filled the entire secret chamber!
The Kaiyuan Realm Seventh Level Blood Blade leader had actually been killed with such an understated flick of a finger!
Silence! Dead silence!
Lin Batian watched helplessly as the Black Robe Leader was instantly killed in seconds. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his very Soul trembling! Boundless fear submerged him like a tidal wave.
He could not understand why Ye Chen, who had been on the verge of death just a moment ago, had suddenly become so terrifying? This was simply beyond human capability!
Run! Must run!
A strong desire to survive overcame everything. Lin Batian let out a strange cry, no longer caring about his injuries or dignity, and turned to flee for his life toward the entrance of the secret chamber!
He even burned his life essence without hesitation, his speed soaring to the limit, just wanting to immediately escape this devil's den and escape that Ye Chen, whose gaze was as indifferent as a god or demon!
However, the moment he turned, Ye Chen's gaze landed on his back once more.
Still, he did not make a move; it was just a glance.
"Puff—!"
Lin Batian, who was running frantically, was struck hard in the back by an invisible giant hammer. His whole body lunged forward, and while still in mid-air, he spat out blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
He clearly heard the sound of his spine shattering. His Kaiyuan Realm Sixth Level cultivation was easily punctured and dissipated by that single glance, like a soap bubble!
"No… impossible…" He fell heavily to the bottom of the stone steps, like a dying stray dog. He lifted his head with difficulty, looking at the figure in the secret chamber who resembled an emperor of the sword, his eyes filled with despair and regret.
Ye Chen slowly walked to the entrance of the secret chamber, looking down at Lin Batian, who was like mud. The starry runes in his eyes slowly faded, and that ancient majesty also began to recede like a tide, replaced by a deep sense of fatigue and weakness. Forcibly carrying that will had placed a tremendous burden on his already severely injured body.
But he still forced himself to hold on; he could not let Lin Batian see any flaws.
"Lin Batian…" Ye Chen spoke, his voice hoarse but carrying cold killing intent. "The conspiracy of the Dark Hall ends here."
Lin Batian let out a miserable laugh, blood continuously gushing from his mouth: "Cough… cough, cough… Ye Chen… you won… but… the power of the Dark Hall… is far beyond your imagination… the Demonic Lord… will surely awaken… you all… will die…"
His voice grew weaker and weaker, and his eyes began to lose focus. With his spine shattered, his cultivation crippled, and having previously suffered damage to his Soul, he was completely exhausted.
Ye Chen watched coldly as his life force completely dissipated. He felt no great joy in his heart, only a heavy sense of responsibility. Lin Batian's dying words felt more like a curse and a warning.
The Dark Hall… was indeed even more terrifying than he had imagined.
At this moment, the ancient will supporting him receded completely like a tide, returning to the incomplete ancient sword deep within his Soul, falling into silence once more. A strong sense of weakness and intense pain swept over him like a tsunami. Ye Chen let out a muffled groan, holding onto the door frame to barely stand steady. His face was pale as paper, and cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.
He glanced at the two corpses inside and outside the secret chamber, especially the dismembered Black Robe Leader, and gained a deeper understanding of the terror of that power. It was definitely not a power he could control right now; it felt more like a passive amulet.
Must leave immediately! The commotion here was too great; it would soon attract more people!
Enduring the body that felt as if it were about to fall apart, he quickly searched the remains of the Black Robe Leader and Lin Batian's corpse. He found some Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and tokens representing their identities, among other things. He didn't have time to examine them closely and stored them all in his storage ring.
Afterward, he did not dare to stay any longer and staggered out of the front hall of the Hundred Herbs Hall, which had already become ruins, blending into the night outside.
Less than half an incense stick of time after Ye Chen left, several powerful auras approached from afar and quickly descended outside the Hundred Herbs Hall. The leader was none other than the captain of the Liuyun City Lord's Mansion Guard, as well as an Elder from the Tianfeng Academy Law Enforcement Hall!
When they saw the Hundred Herbs Hall turned into ruins, and the wretched state of Lin Batian and that Black-Robed Figure inside and outside the secret chamber, everyone gasped!
"Lin Batian… actually died?!" The City Lord's Mansion captain's expression changed drastically. The head of the Lin family dying violently here was definitely a major event that would shake the entire city!
And that Law Enforcement Elder from Tianfeng Academy had an even sharper gaze. He carefully examined the corpse of the Black-Robed Figure, especially the neat and smooth incision, and his expression became incomparably grave: "What a terrifying Sword Intent… the residual aura… unheard of! And the identity of this Black-Robed Figure…"
He picked up a fragment of a token from the ground that hadn't been completely destroyed, engraved with a pattern of a dripping short blade, and said in a deep voice: "It's someone from 'Blood Blade'! And not of low status! Seal the scene immediately! Report this matter to the Academy Dean and Elder Liu immediately!"
The night in Liuyun City stirred up even greater waves because of this brief and tragic battle at the Hundred Herbs Hall.
And at this moment, Ye Chen, who had caused all of this, was hiding in another more secluded abandoned cellar in the west of the city, coughing violently while seizing every second to heal and recover. He knew that the real storm had perhaps only just begun.