67: Annihilation Devouring
Ye Chen's voice was not loud, yet it carried a cold resolve that could sever metal, spreading clearly throughout the dilapidated ancestral home. Everywhere his gaze landed, the remaining men in black were struck with fear, instinctively retreating as none dared to meet his eyes.
At this moment, although Ye Chen's aura remained weak and his face was pale, his eyes were terrifying. They were deep as an ancient well and sharp as an unsheathed divine weapon, faintly carrying a darkness that seemed capable of devouring one's mind. This was the transformation of his will and Sword Intent after being tempered through the ordeal of Demonic Thoughts eroding his heart, striking out with a Heart Sword in a desperate situation, and ultimately resolving the crisis through unknown means.
His gaze finally settled on Elder Blood Calamity, who was struggling to stand upright. Black blood constantly seeped from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were filled with shock and malice.
“You... you actually withstood the erosion of the Demonic Lord's will?! This is impossible!” Elder Blood Calamity's voice was hoarse and full of disbelief. He understood the horror of the Demonic Lord's will better than anyone; it was a crushing pressure originating from the level of life and the essence of the Soul! How could a mere kid in the Kaiyuan Realm resist it?!
“Nothing is impossible.” Ye Chen stepped forward, his pace slow but steady. With every step he took, the faint yet incomparably pure Nirvana Sword Intent around him condensed further. The remnants of the dark red Formation beneath his feet quietly vanished into ash as if meeting its natural enemy. “Your Demonic Lord cannot save you.”
He raised his hand. Cracks covered the qingfeng sword as if it might shatter at any moment, but where the blade pointed, the condensed Sword Intent caused the air to emit an overburdened hum.
“Little animal! Do not be so arrogant! Even if this Elder is heavily injured, killing you is still as easy as slaughtering a dog!” Elder Blood Calamity was completely enraged by Ye Chen's indifferent gaze. He forced his remaining internal Qi to surge, and blood-red light pulsed around him once more, though it was much dimmer and more chaotic than before. His hands formed a seal, and a Blood-colored Skull—much smaller than before but still radiating a dangerous aura—roared as it lunged at Ye Chen!
This was his deathbed counterattack!
Facing this blow fueled by rage, Ye Chen's eyes did not flicker in the slightest. He didn't even use the qingfeng sword, simply raising his right hand and pressing his index and middle fingers together. At his fingertips, a peculiar wisp of sword light quietly emerged.
This sword light was no longer purely dark gold. Deep within its core, it was mixed with a trace of an almost imperceptible dark red vein that seemed capable of devouring light! It was precisely the trace of the Demonic Lord's will essence remaining after being devoured and refined by the ancient sword phantasm, which had unknowingly formed a bizarre Fusion with his own Nirvana Sword Intent!
A brand new characteristic was born upon the foundation of Nirvana's 'annihilation'—Devouring!
Cloud Breaking Sword Finger—or rather, a Cloud Breaking Sword Finger infused with a brand new Sword Intent characteristic!
“Swish!”
The finger force cut through the air silently. That dark-gold finger force, laced with dark red veins, instantly collided with the Blood-colored Skull.
There was no violent explosion, nor was there a clash of energies.
To Elder Blood Calamity's absolute horror, the moment his Blood-colored Skull, which condensed his remaining power, touched the finger force, it rapidly melted and shriveled like snow meeting a scorching sun! Not only was the energy annihilated, but a portion of the pure Blood-fiend Origin was forcibly extracted and devoured by the dark red veins within the finger force, turning into the finger force's own power, making its light even brighter and its momentum even faster!
“No! What power is this?!” Elder Blood Calamity's Soul nearly left his body. He wanted to dodge, but it was already too late!
“Puchi!”
The finger force pierced through his brow without any resistance, leaving a small, charred hole.
Elder Blood Calamity's body suddenly stiffened, and the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed and dissipated. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only make a meaningless rattling sound before falling straight back, his breath completely gone.
An eighth-layer Kaiyuan Realm Elder of the Dark Hall had fallen just like that!
After piercing through Elder Blood Calamity, the finger force did not dissipate immediately. Instead, because it had devoured a portion of his power, its momentum remained unchecked, and it pierced through a man in black who was attempting to flee behind him!
Silence!
A deathly silence!
The few remaining men in black looked at the dead Elder Blood Calamity and then at the youth who was slowly lowering his finger, his face still pale. They completely lost the courage to resist, let out a shout, and scattered in flight.
Chen Feng and the others did not pursue. Their gazes were focused on Ye Chen, filled with shock and complexity. Ye Chen's finger strike just now was too bizarre; not only was its power staggering, but it also carried a... devouring characteristic! This was definitely no ordinary Nirvana Sword Intent!
“Junior Brother Ye, you...” Chen Feng hesitated, a trace of worry in his eyes. He feared that although Ye Chen had withstood the demonic erosion, his own power might have been corrupted.
Ye Chen turned around to look at Chen Feng, revealing a tired but clear smile. “Senior Brother Chen, rest assured, I am fine. I simply have some new insights regarding my Sword Intent.”
His eyes were clear and firm, with none of the chaos or tyranny of being controlled by Demonic Thoughts. Chen Feng sensed carefully and found that the core of Ye Chen's Sword Intent was still that pure Nirvana and protection, but it had gained a more aggressive and predatory outward expression, as if... after Nirvana, everything is devoured and made one's own?
Was this a blessing or a curse?
Ye Chen did not explain much; he himself was still processing this change. The trace of essence fed back by the ancient sword phantasm deep in his Soul after devouring the Demonic Thoughts had combined with his Nirvana Sword Intent, producing this unexpected transformation. He could feel that this 'Nirvana Devouring' Sword Intent was more powerful, but it also appeared more overbearing and... sinister. He had to control it cautiously and stay true to his heart, otherwise it would be very easy to fall into the abyss of losing control over his power.
He walked to his parents' side, looked at their worried gazes, and said softly, “Father, Mother, it’s okay now. It’s all over.”
Ye Xiaotian slapped his son's shoulder heavily, his eyes brimming with tears. A thousand words turned into a long sigh: “Good! Good! My son... has grown up!”
After comforting his parents, Ye Chen's gaze swept across the devastated ancestral home and the grieving clansmen, his heart heavy. The sacrifices of the Grand Elder, the Third Elder, and numerous guards and clansmen weighed on his heart like a heavy boulder.
“Senior Brother Chen, I'll have to trouble you all to help clear the battlefield, treat the wounded, and tally the... casualties.” Ye Chen's voice was slightly hoarse.
“It is our duty.” Chen Feng nodded and immediately directed the Disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall to take action.
Ye Chen walked to the center of the ancestral home, where the core of the previous Formation had been and where the Demonic Thoughts had attempted to possess him. He crouched down, his fingers touching the charred marks on the ground as his Divine Sense sensed carefully.
Besides the faint residual Blood-fiend Qi, he also vaguely sensed an extremely subtle... spatial fluctuation? And a sense of depletion and resentment that seemed to come from deep underground, left behind after being forcibly extracted.
“The Leyline Dragon Qi was heavily extracted... This Formation was indeed not as simple as just a blood sacrifice of living beings.” Ye Chen's brow furrowed. “The Dark Hall has been plotting here for years; their goals are immense. Qing City has likely been secretly developed by them into one of the nodes of a massive sacrificial altar.”
He thought of Elder Blood Dove and the mobile core carrier; his unease grew even stronger. The Dark Hall's methods were endless and bizarrely unpredictable.
He had to quickly send word back to the academy about the situation in Qing City and his suspicions regarding the Formation nodes and the 'carrier'!
He stood up and said to Chen Feng, “Senior Brother Chen, now that this matter is settled, we need to return to the academy as soon as possible. The Dark Hall's conspiracy has not been completely crushed. Liuyun City and the academy might still face an even greater crisis.”
Chen Feng nodded with a solemn expression. “You’re right. This place isn't safe for long. Let's pack up and set off immediately.”
Ye Chen took one last look at the Ye Family ancestral home where he was born and raised, at the clansmen busy cleaning and rebuilding amidst the ruins, and at his parents supporting each other with eyes full of sorrow yet also the hope of new life. A stronger sense of responsibility and the will to protect rose in his heart.
Become stronger! He must become even stronger! Only then could he protect everything he wanted to protect and slay all evil!
He clenched his fist, feeling the transformed 'Nirvana Devouring' Sword Intent within his body, his gaze becoming increasingly determined.
The road ahead might be even more difficult and dangerous, but he was fearless.
Because he was Ye Chen, the son of the Ye Family, a Disciple of Tianfeng Academy, and more importantly... the one who wielded Nirvana and walked toward the supreme Sword Dao—the Myriad Worlds Sword Venerable!