43: Chapter 43 The Ancient Inheritance is Gone?! Xiao Chen's Dao Heart Shattered into a Piece

Inside the cavern at the deepest part of the Ancient Sword Tomb, there was dead silence.

Gu Yi held Senior Sister Mu Qingxue's hand, hiding behind the shadow of a massive stalactite at the edge of the altar. The Formation's light curtain perfectly blended their presence and figures into the surrounding dim rock walls.

The wait was not long.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a muffled sound of spiritual power surging echoed from the deep passage on the outskirts of the cavern.

"Boom—"

With a loud crash, the heavy stone door was forcefully blasted open from the outside. Shattered stones, carrying a thick scent of blood, flew into this core area that had been silent for thousands of years like hidden weapons.

Gu Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and calmly pulled Senior Sister Mu Qingxue behind him. His wide sleeves perfectly blocked the flying stone fragments and the acrid stench of blood.

At the entrance of the passage, a ragged, wheezing sound like a broken bellows rang out.

"Drip... Drip..."

That was the faint sound of thick, viscous blood dripping onto the bluestone floor.

A tottering figure, hands gripping a broken sword stained with dark red blood, using it as a crutch, shuffled out from the shadows of the passage, leaving a bloody footprint with every step.

It was none other than the one who claimed to be high and mighty, the "Ancient Sword Emperor", Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen.

At this moment, Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen could only be described as a "blood gourd." The coarse gray robe he wore was now shredded into mere strips of rags, soaked through with blood into a shocking dark black.

On his left shoulder was a terrifying laceration deep enough to see the bone, clearly a masterpiece left behind by the guardian Formations on the perimeter.

Streaks of killing Sword Qi that had not yet fully dissipated were still ravaging his wounds, preventing the flesh from healing. His right leg also held a bizarre, twisted posture; every step he took brought a violent tremor.

To pass through the net of heaven and earth set up by the Sect on the perimeter, Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen had survived by the skin of his teeth, almost exhausting all the potential of this body, and even his Divine Soul had suffered heavy damage.

The vitality of his body was rapidly fading.

On Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen's face, pale as paper from excessive blood loss, there was not a trace of pain or retreat. Hidden beneath his messy, blood-matted hair, his eyes burned with a chilling fanaticism and madness.

"Arrived... finally arrived..."

His cracked lips parted slightly, emitting a hoarse whisper like a night owl.

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen lifted his head, his bloodshot gaze passing over the Sword Puppets ice sculptures frozen by the Extreme Cold Ice Flame, landing straight on the shimmering mutton-fat jade altar in the center of the cavern.

Looking at that familiar altar, looking at that layer of golden defensive light curtain that had been corroded into a large hole by some kind of black Evil Qi.

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen did not dwell on why the defensive Formation here was damaged, nor did he care why the Sword Puppets that should have stopped him had turned into ice sculptures. In his mind, now filled with obsession and ecstasy, only one thought remained.

His supreme Dao foundation, the top-grade sword bone he left behind in his previous life, was right there on that jade platform!

As long as he retrieved that bone, he could reshape his Meridians, ascend to the peak of the Central Plains again, and trample those ants in Tingjian Pavilion who mocked him, along with that arrogant Xuantian Sect Chief Disciple, under his feet!

"Mine... all mine!"

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen let out a roar that sounded like both crying and laughing. From somewhere, a strange power emerged; he actually threw away the broken sword he was using as a crutch, dragged his broken leg, and scrambled on all fours toward the altar.

Because he rushed too violently, he slipped while climbing the white jade steps of the altar, and his whole body slammed heavily onto the hard steps. His chin was bloodied, but he didn't even frown.

Like a starving wolf that had smelled meat, he crawled on all fours to the top of the altar and lunged in front of the jade platform.

"Sword bone... this Emperor's top-grade sword bone..."

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen tremblingly reached out his hands, covered in dirt and blood, filled with three thousand years of anticipation and the longing after suffering all the humiliation of today, and grabbed toward the spot in the center of the jade platform where a peerless treasure should have been floating.

His hands closed.

What he caught was only the cold, empty air on the altar.

The fanatical, almost twisted smile on Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen's face froze completely at this moment.

He stared blankly at his empty hands, then looked at the white jade platform in front of him, which now only had a shallow groove left.

The surrounding chants of the Great Dao still echoed on the dome of the stone cavern, and the torn layer of golden light curtain was still dutifully operating the remaining Formation.

Only, the most core item was gone.

"Empty... empty?"

There was a trace of disbelief in Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen's voice. He lunged onto the jade platform, fumbling back and forth on the surface with both hands like a madman, even pressing his face against the cold jade, trying to find even the slightest trace of the sword bone's lingering aura.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

It was as clean as if someone had meticulously wiped it with a rag.

"This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen suddenly straightened his body, eyes wide open, the corners of his eyes even straining to the point of popping a few blood vessels due to the extreme stimulation. He tilted his head back and let out a shrill, miserable roar toward the empty cavern dome.

"The Legacy Formation I left behind is intact! Except for my unique secret techniques, even a Soul Transformation Stage old monster couldn't forcefully break through it! Who?! Who the hell stole my sword bone?!"

Despair, anger, unwillingness, and the suffocating feeling of having his last straw of hope cut off by someone else, like a bursting flood, completely shattered Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen's prideful sword emperor Dao Heart.

For this bone, he had abandoned his so-called dignity, lived on while enduring the mockery of various Sects, and risked having his Meridians shattered to break through the outer killing Formation.

He pushed open the door to his home full of joy, only to find that his family fortune, which he regarded as his life, had long since been looted!

Just as Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen was kneeling on the empty jade platform, coughing up blood toward the sky, his mind on the verge of collapse.

From a shadow in the corner of the cavern came a very faint, yet exceptionally jarring chuckle in this dead-silent space.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, shouting and yelling in this underground cavern in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night, really lacks the demeanor of an expert."

This voice was gentle, calm, and carried an elegance like a spring breeze, yet between the lines, it revealed undisguised mockery and ridicule.

Hearing this voice, which was so familiar it was etched into his bones, Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen turned his head abruptly, his neck emitting a crisp "crack" sound.

Beside the stalactite below the altar, that layer of transparent light curtain, like ripples in water, slowly faded away like melting snow.

Gu Yi's spotless moon-white Dharma robe was particularly eye-catching in the dim cavern. One hand was behind his back, while the other naturally held Senior Sister Mu Qingxue's soft hand, and he was looking at the bloody man on the altar, who looked like a stray dog, with a half-smile.

"Gu Yi! It's you! It's you who stole my sword bone!"

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen's eyes were splitting with rage; his fingernails were deeply embedded in the crevices of the white jade platform, and the blood seeping from his fingertips stained the pristine white jade red. He looked at Gu Yi's handsome face, then looked at the stunning female cultivator beside Gu Yi who, from start to finish, hadn't even glanced at him properly, only focused on letting Gu Yi hold her hand.

New grudges and old hatreds were completely intertwined and exploded at this moment.

The woman he regarded as excellent material for the Dao of the Sword, who should have surrendered to his Sword Emperor majesty, was now, like an obedient partner, accompanying another man, standing in his former lair, watching his miserable state after losing everything.

Utterly heart-wrenching.

Is there anything in this world more devastating than having your core Opportunity intercepted by an enemy right in front of your face, and having him bring the woman you had your eye on to watch the show?

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, where does that come from?" The smile at the corners of Gu Yi's mouth deepened slightly, and his tone carried a bit of feigned innocence. "This Ancient Sword Tomb is a land without an owner; Heaven And Earth Treasures naturally belong to those who are virtuous. I happened to arrive a step earlier than you, so the items on this altar count as my Opportunity. How can you call it stealing?"

Gu Yi's airy words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Puff—!"

Ancient Sword Emperor Xiao Chen, overcome with rage, spat out another large mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs. His Realm, which was already tottering, began a cliff-like decline under the backlash of his completely shattered Dao Heart.

In his Sea of Consciousness, that sliver of Origin Soul belonging to the Sword Emperor of his previous life let out a desperate cry of despair.

At the same time, deep within Gu Yi's dark Sea of Consciousness, the System's mechanical notification sound exploded like celestial music.

[Ding! Detected that the host has intercepted the ultimate Heaven And Earth Treasure of the Child of Luck right in front of him!]

[Target's Dao Heart has completely shattered, Luck has been greatly lost!]

[Reward calculation: Villain Points +3000!]