128: The Evil King is unsealed, the ultimate showdown.

At the core of the Myriad Evil Grotto at the hour of hour of mao, the smoke and dust from the collapsed Evil Hall had yet to dissipate, and black Evil Energy surged like boiling ink. As Lu Chen and the others retreated to the passage entrance, a world-shaking roar came from behind them. A suffocatingly vast Soul Transformation Stage pressure swept over, causing the rocks on both sides of the passage to shatter, countless stones to roll down, as if the entire Myriad Evil Grotto was trembling.

"Not good, the Evil Clan King is completely unsealed!" Lu Chen's expression changed drastically. His spiritual sense clearly perceived a black figure slowly rising from the ruins of the Evil Hall, surrounded by dense, materialized Evil Energy. It was the fully awakened Evil Clan King. He was tall and imposing, clad in black battle armor inlaid with evil crystals, his face ferocious, and his eyes flickering with crimson light. The myriad evil pearl floated above his head, its eerie green Evil Light interwoven with crimson Evil Energy, emitting an aura of world-destroying power.

The Evil Clan King's gaze swept over Lu Chen and the others, filled with extreme killing intent and disdain: "Insignificant humans, how dare you disrupt this King's awakening ritual and try to seize the myriad evil pearl? Today, I shall turn all of you into dust!"

Before his voice faded, the Evil Clan King waved his hand, and a massive surge of Evil Energy blasted towards the group. Wherever the Evil Energy passed, the air was torn apart, and the Evil Mist in the passage instantly condensed into countless black blades, aiming directly at Lu Chen and the others.

"Holy Spirit Grand Formation, defend!" Lu Chen ordered. The Alliance Disciples immediately formed the Holy Spirit Grand Formation, and golden-green spiritual light intertwined into a huge light screen, blocking the attack of the Evil Energy blades. However, the power of the Soul Transformation Stage was too terrifying. The light screen trembled violently, instantly covered in cracks, and several Disciples were sent flying, spitting out blood.

"Alliance Leader, we can't hold them!" Li Yue shouted anxiously, his arm already numb from the Evil Energy, and the circulation of his Holy Spirit Power became sluggish.

Lu Chen knew that with their current strength, they couldn't contend with the fully awakened Evil Clan King. He turned to Yu Lan and said, "Take the Disciples and evacuate the Myriad Evil Grotto as quickly as possible. Chu Feng and I will hold him off!"

"No, you alone are too dangerous!" Yu Lan's eyes were filled with worry. She knew that even if Lu Chen and Chu Feng joined forces, they might not last long against the Evil Clan King.

"This is an order!" Lu Chen said solemnly, "Only if you safely evacuate can the Alliance's spark be preserved, otherwise all of us will die here!" He turned to Chu Feng and said, "Chu Feng, follow me!"

Chu Feng nodded heavily, his azure cloud sword erupting with Ice God Power and Holy Spirit Sword Intent, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Alliance Leader, today we will fight the Evil Clan King to the death!"

The two charged towards the Evil Clan King side by side. Lu Chen, holding the demon breaking sword, unleashed the power of the holy spirit token and the heart of the ice god simultaneously, intertwining golden-green spiritual light and ice-blue light. Chu Feng, on the other hand, expanded his Sword Domain, his ice-elemental Sword Intent freezing the air, forming an Ice Seal Domain to try and restrict the Evil Clan King's movements.

"Overestimating yourselves!" The Evil Clan King sneered, raising his hand and shattering Chu Feng's Sword Domain with a wave. He flickered, instantly appearing before Lu Chen, his black palm, imbued with immense Evil Energy, striking towards Lu Chen's head.

Lu Chen swung his sword to block. The demon breaking sword collided with the Evil Clan King's palm, emitting a deafening 'clang.' He felt a tremendous force, his arm instantly going numb, and the demon breaking sword almost flew out of his hand. He retreated repeatedly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, greatly alarmed: "The power of the Soul Transformation Stage is truly terrifying!"

Chu Feng seized the opportunity to attack, his azure cloud sword, imbued with Ice God Power, stabbing towards the Evil Clan King from the side. The Evil Clan King dodged sideways, then retaliated with a palm strike, sending Chu Feng flying. Chu Feng crashed heavily onto the rocks, spitting out blood. He struggled to stand up, but found that the spiritual power in his body was sealed by Evil Energy, making it difficult to circulate.

"Chu Feng!" Lu Chen's heart tightened. He wanted to go to his rescue, but was tightly entangled by the Evil Clan King. The Evil Clan King's attacks rained down like a storm, each strike containing world-destroying power. Lu Chen could only barely resist, and his wounds grew more numerous.

Just then, the remaining Evil Clan forces suddenly rushed out from both sides of the passage. Several Evil Clan Elders, leading the charge, wielded Demonic Weapons and attacked the Alliance Disciples. "Capture the Ice Clan Saintess and present her to the King!" one Evil Clan Elder roared, his gaze fixed on the Ice Clan Saintess in the crowd.

The Ice Clan Saintess's face turned pale, trembling with fear. Yu Lan immediately led the Disciples to form a defensive formation, blocking the attacks of the remaining Evil Clan forces: "If you want to harm the Saintess, you'll have to get past me first!" The Evil Suppression Domain unfolded, its purifying power continuously eroding the Evil Energy of the Evil Clan.

However, the remaining Evil Clan forces were numerous, and several Elders had reached the Nascent Soul Stage. The Disciples led by Yu Lan gradually faltered, and a flaw appeared in their defensive formation. An Evil Clan Elder seized the opportunity, broke through the defense, and lunged towards the Ice Clan Saintess, his demonic blade flickering with eerie green Evil Light.

"Watch out!" Yu Lan cried out in alarm, but it was too late to rescue her. At this critical moment, a golden sword light suddenly shot out, slaying the Evil Clan Elder. Lu Chen, having somehow broken free from the Evil Clan King's entanglement, rushed to the Ice Clan Saintess's side, shielding her.

"Alliance Leader!" The Ice Clan Saintess's eyes were filled with gratitude and lingering fear.

Lu Chen's face was pale, most of his spiritual power already depleted. He said to Yu Lan, "Quickly take the Saintess and go, it'll be too late if you delay!"

The Evil Clan King saw Lu Chen rescue the Ice Clan Saintess, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes: "Human Cultivator, do you think you can save her?" He flickered, appearing before Lu Chen again, a massive ball of Evil Energy condensing in his hand, "Die!"

Lu Chen knew he couldn't withstand this blow. He pushed the Ice Clan Saintess towards Yu Lan and turned to charge at the Evil Clan King, wanting to use his body to buy time for everyone to retreat. Just then, the blood god pearl fragment in his body suddenly erupted with a strong red light, and a powerful blood control force resonated miraculously with the holy spirit token and the heart of the ice god.

"This is..." Lu Chen was startled. He could feel that the powers of the blood god pearl fragment, the holy spirit token, and the heart of the ice god were merging, forming a new, even more powerful force. This power contained the sacred purification of Holy Spirit Power, the pure ice seal of the heart of the ice god, and the domineering blood control of the blood god pearl fragment. The three intertwined, causing his aura to instantly surge.

The Evil Clan King sensed this power, and a hint of surprise and apprehension flashed in his eyes: "blood god pearl fragment? You actually possess the relic of a traitor from my clan!" He seemed extremely familiar with the blood god pearl fragment, even harboring a deep-seated hatred.

Lu Chen had no time to ponder the Evil Clan King's words. He could feel the power within him rapidly increasing. The Bottleneck of the Holy Spirit Myriad Manifestations Art was instantly broken, and his cultivation directly broke through to the Soul Transformation Stage! Surrounded by golden-green, ice-blue, and blood-red lights, the three powers intertwined, forming a brilliant light screen that protected him.

"Soul Transformation Stage? You actually broke through in battle!" The Evil Clan King's eyes were filled with disbelief. He hadn't expected Lu Chen to be able to break through to the Soul Transformation Stage in such a short time, using the power of the blood god pearl fragment.

Lu Chen felt the surging power within him, his heart filled with confidence. He raised his hand, and the three powers intertwined to form a massive pillar of light, which blasted towards the Evil Clan King. The Evil Clan King dared not be careless and immediately activated the myriad evil pearl's Evil Energy to its limit, sending a black pillar of light to meet it.

The two pillars of light collided, erupting in a world-destroying energy shockwave. The entire core area of the Myriad Evil Grotto trembled violently, the passage completely collapsed, and smoke and dust filled the air. Lu Chen and the Evil Clan King were both sent flying, spitting out blood, but a look of excitement flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. He knew that he finally had the strength to contend with the Evil Clan King.

"Human Cultivator, you have completely enraged me!" The Evil Clan King roared, his figure charging at Lu Chen again. The myriad evil pearl's Evil Energy fully merged with his original power, forming an even more terrifying Evil Energy storm that swept towards Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was fearless. Wielding the demon breaking sword, he infused all three powers into the sword body. The sword body erupted with three-colored light as he charged into the Evil Energy storm. "Evil Clan King, today is your doomsday!"

The two clashed again, three-colored light intertwining with black Evil Energy. Each collision unleashed massive energy fluctuations, completely annihilating the surrounding rocks and Evil Mist. Chu Feng meditated for a moment, finally breaking through the Evil Energy's seal. He circulated his Ice God Power and Holy Spirit Sword Intent, joining the battle and teaming up with Lu Chen to fight the Evil Clan King.

Yu Lan, meanwhile, led the Disciples, taking advantage of the lull in the fierce battle, to quickly evacuate the core area of the Myriad Evil Grotto. The Ice Clan Saintess looked back at the direction of the intense fighting, her eyes filled with worry: "Alliance Leader Lu Chen and the others..."

"Don't worry, the Alliance Leader has already broken through to the Soul Transformation Stage, he will definitely defeat the Evil Clan King!" Yu Lan comforted her, but her own heart was filled with apprehension. A Soul Transformation Stage showdown was unpredictable, and a slight misstep could lead to death and the scattering of one's Dao.

In the core area of the Myriad Evil Grotto, the battle had entered a white-hot stage. Lu Chen and Chu Feng, working together, were still at a disadvantage, but they could hold their own against the Evil Clan King. Lu Chen's three intertwined powers continuously purified the Evil Clan King's Evil Energy, while Chu Feng's Ice God Power froze the flow of Evil Energy, restricting the Evil Clan King's movements.

The Evil Clan King gradually grew impatient. He hadn't expected two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators (Chu Feng had not yet broken through) to be able to contend with him for so long. He roared, his internal Evil Energy surging again, and the myriad evil pearl's eerie green light became even more dazzling: "Myriad Evils Unite, Evil God Descends!"

An even more terrifying Evil Energy erupted from the Evil Clan King's body. His figure grew taller, and his face became even more ferocious, as if he had transformed into a true Evil God. "Today, this King shall make your Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!"

The Evil Clan King waved his hand, and a massive Evil Energy palm print slammed towards Lu Chen and Chu Feng. Wherever the palm print passed, space was torn apart, carrying a suffocating pressure. Lu Chen and Chu Feng's expressions changed drastically; they knew that the power of this strike far surpassed any previous attack, and if hit, they would surely die.

"Holy Spirit Myriad Manifestations, Ice God's Aid!" Lu Chen roared, pushing the powers of the holy spirit token, the heart of the ice god, and the blood god pearl fragment to their limits. The three powers completely fused, forming a three-colored light screen that blocked in front of them. Chu Feng also injected his Ice God Power and Holy Spirit Sword Intent into the light screen, enhancing its defense.

"Boom—"

The Evil Energy palm print collided with the three-colored light screen, erupting in a deafening roar. Lu Chen and Chu Feng were both sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out large amounts of blood, their auras instantly weakening. The three-colored light screen was also covered in cracks, on the verge of shattering at any moment.

The Evil Clan King sneered, about to unleash a fatal blow, but suddenly felt a surge of disorder in his internal Evil Energy. He looked down and saw a wound on his chest, where the Evil Energy was rapidly being purified. "This is... the power of the heart of the ice god?"

It turned out that during the previous collision, Lu Chen, using the power of the heart of the ice god, had injected a wisp of pure ice-elemental spiritual power into the Evil Clan King's body. Although it didn't cause fatal damage, it disrupted the circulation of his Evil Energy.

Lu Chen struggled to his feet, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Evil Clan King, do you think you've won?" He infused all his remaining power into the demon breaking sword, "Today, I will perish with you!"

Lu Chen charged towards the Evil Clan King, the three-colored light on the demon breaking sword becoming even more dazzling, even faintly showing power fluctuations beyond the Soul Transformation Stage. A hint of fear flashed in the Evil Clan King's eyes; he hadn't expected Lu Chen to be so insane. He immediately circulated his Evil Energy, trying to resist, but his internal Evil Energy was in disarray, making it difficult to condense for a moment.

At this critical moment, Yu Lan suddenly returned with several core Elders. They held evil energy crystals found in the Myriad Evil Grotto, injecting the energy from the crystals into Lu Chen's body: "Alliance Leader, we're here to help you!"

With the energy replenishment, Lu Chen's power instantly recovered by more than half, and the demon breaking sword's light became even more dazzling. He leaped up, his demon breaking sword, imbued with three-colored power, fiercely stabbing towards the Evil Clan King's glabella.

The Evil Clan King tried to dodge, but was tightly entangled by Chu Feng's Sword Domain, unable to move. The demon breaking sword successfully pierced the Evil Clan King's glabella, and the three-colored power erupted within him, purifying his Evil Energy and Divine Soul.

"No—!" The Evil Clan King let out a mournful roar, his body beginning to disintegrate, turning into wisps of black smoke. The myriad evil pearl, having lost its host, shook violently in the air, its eerie green light gradually dimming.

Lu Chen grabbed the myriad evil pearl, injecting Holy Spirit Power into it, completely purifying the Evil Energy within. The Evil Clan King's form completely dissipated, leaving only a faint wisp of residual spirit, struggling to escape in the air.

"Evil Clan King, your doom has arrived!" Lu Chen waved his hand, and Holy Spirit Power enveloped the residual spirit, completely purifying it.

With the demise of the Evil Clan King, the Evil Energy in the core area of the Myriad Evil Grotto began to dissipate rapidly. The black Evil Mist gradually receded, revealing a clear sky. Lu Chen, Chu Feng, Yu Lan, and the others exchanged smiles, their eyes filled with the joy and exhaustion of surviving a great calamity.

However, they knew that although this battle was won, the crisis in the Cultivation World was not completely over. Although the Evil Clan King was destroyed, other Evil Clan remnants might still be hidden in the Myriad Evil Grotto. Moreover, the relationship between the blood god pearl fragment and the Evil Clan King, as well as the "traitor from my clan" mentioned by the Evil Clan King, made Lu Chen realize that deeper secrets were hidden behind this war.

Lu Chen put away the myriad evil pearl and said to everyone, "Let's leave here first and return to the Alliance headquarters to make further plans."

Everyone nodded, and under Lu Chen's leadership, they walked towards the outer perimeter of the Myriad Evil Grotto. Although everyone was physically and mentally exhausted, their faces bore smiles of victory. They knew that they had performed an unparalleled feat for the Cultivation World, completely eradicating the Evil Clan King, a grave threat.

However, Lu Chen's heart was filled with questions. What was the origin of the blood god pearl fragment? Who was the "traitor from my clan" mentioned by the Evil Clan King? Perhaps only by finding the complete blood god pearl could he find the answers to these questions. But for now, he needed to return to the Alliance headquarters to deal with post-war matters, and then explore these secrets.

A thrilling ultimate showdown finally ended with the Alliance's victory. But the future of the Cultivation World was still full of unknowns and challenges, and Lu Chen and his companions still had a long way to go.