Daqin Zhentiansi

"hold head high--!"

The mournful cry of the giant Kun "Xu" shattered the waves for thousands of miles. Its mountain-like spine was precisely pierced by a desolate star spear that pierced through the sky. Golden scales were peeled off like a rainstorm, and blue blood stained the sky and sea!
The dying giant Kun suddenly raised its head, using its remaining power of returning to the void to gather the largest chain fragment, which crashed into the rift like a comet!
The sharp tips of the chains, like poisonous dragons devouring the heart, tightly bound the ankles of Xuan Yue Xing Jun, who was charging at the forefront!

Blood Sea Ancestor and Bone-Eating Demon Lord were shocked and enraged and tried to grab back, but they were caught in the Ruins of Return black hole caused by the giant Kun burning its divine soul.

"Use my bones as a barrier, and your soul as a bolt!" Ao Qing's roar echoed across the screen. He burned his essence blood to nail the bronze wave-slaying blade into the broken chain. His body and the blade instantly vaporized, turning into the final sealing talisman!
The rift twisted and closed amidst the entanglement of the black hole and chains, and the three demonic figures were flung into the endless turbulence with a roar...

Ao Qing's afterimage grew increasingly faint, but the Zhao Zhou dragon-patterned anchor mark within the crack shone as brightly as the crimson sun.

"'Ruins' dragged the remains and the demon's essence to this corner. Zhao Zhou's 'Fubo Dragon Boat' exhausted the nation's fortune to build this monument, intending to seal away the demon's thoughts... But our bloodline has been extinguished..."

He raised his hand and pointed to the Zhenhai Guard token that Zhang Yuan was clutching tightly; a faint light entered the crack in the token.
"With this order, seek the 'Star Burial Strait' at the end of the East China Sea, where the last 'Return to Ruins Lighthouse' of Zhenhai Guard is located... Coordinates..."

Before the words were even finished, the dragon pattern on the monument suddenly exploded!
The phantom of the Soul-Devouring Chains lunged at Zhang Yuan like a venomous snake.

"Humph!"

Starlight surged in Zhang Yuan's eyes, and the true form of the Annihilation Star God behind him crushed down with a palm, grabbing the chain phantom along with the broken monument into his palm!
The fragment of the immortal artifact emitted a sharp clang in his hand, and a trace of bloody filth surged upwards along the veins in his palm!

"Lord Marquis!" Pei Lie's sword aura had already arrived, but Zhang Yuan raised his hand to stop him.

The Zhenhai Token in his palm shone brightly, and the power of the Whale Fall Primordial Qi mixed with the power of the Returning Void poured into his meridians, forcibly expelling the filth from his body. It turned into a drop of wriggling black blood and fell into the mud, "sizzling" and corroded through a hundred-meter-long skeleton!
“The Strait of Burial Stars… The Lighthouse of Return to the Ruins…” Zhang Yuan’s fingertips caressed the newly bright star map engravings on the token, his gaze sweeping across the abyss like a tempered, cold blade.

"Lu Tianshu, use the Demon-Suppressing Tower to imprison the fragments of the Immortal Chain, sealing them with thirty-six layers of restrictions!"

The black robe fluttered wildly in the deathly vortex, and the phantom of the Annihilation Star God opened up the Devouring Star Abyss behind him.

"Yin Jiuyou, drain all the corpse poison from this place, and make ten thousand copies of the inscription to send to the Ministry of Works!"

"Send a message to the capital, informing His Majesty that I wish to rebuild the 'Zhenhai Guard'!"

The abyss of corpses was deathly silent, except for the fragments of the Immortal Chain resonating within the seal, as if echoing from the distant starry sky.

------------------

The bottom of the abyss where the giant Kun's corpse lies.

The emerald glow of the Whale Fall Spirit Nourishing Array intertwined with the Sea-Suppressing Spirit Lamp, casting a strange halo over the temporarily constructed weapon-refining dome.

Li Yu, the master craftsman of the Ministry of Works, stood at the core, with floating objects in front of him, including the fragment of the immortal chain obtained from the mud in the belly of the Kun, which was shimmering with dark gold, and the Crimson Dragon Rope that Zhang Yuan had taken off.

One was still, the other in motion; one was extinguished, the other blazing. The collision of their invisible energies sparked tiny sparks and hissed in the void.

"My lord, this chain remnant cannot be melted by fire from the human world!" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Yu's forehead as he guided the "Earth Core Crimson Lotus Furnace," which was being jointly activated by several master craftsmen.

The flame inside the furnace was not an ordinary flame, but rather a primordial spiritual flame generated by the "ten-thousand-year-old whale brain jade fat" extracted from the skeleton of the giant Kun, mixed with the uniquely activated "whale sinking primordial qi" of this place. It was bluish-white in color and hot enough to melt divine metal.

However, the dark gold chain suspended at the heart of the flame, with the etched patterns of the sun, moon, and stars shimmering with a ghostly light, and the will to annihilate like solidified ice, remained unmoved despite the licking of the flames, with only fine, ghostly blue runes seeping from the surface to stubbornly resist.

Just then, the pure white phoenix on Zhang Yuan's shoulder was aroused by the annihilating aura of the immortal chain. Its wings suddenly flapped, and it transformed into a stream of light and flew to the front of the furnace.

Blazing white flames rose from its body, and the true fire of Nirvana spewed from its mouth, shooting straight at the chains!
Flames exploded, and the dark blue runes flickered violently, as if thousands of stars had been ignited, dazzlingly bright.

The Flame of Rebirth!

This is the natal flame of a divine beast or demonic bird! However, the will to annihilate was like an ancient, unyielding glacier, and the true fire only left a trace of crimson gold on its surface before quickly receding.

The phoenix let out a mournful cry, and the fire element between its feathers suddenly dimmed. It hurriedly flew back to the corner of the secret chamber, its docile body trembling as before, and a deeper fear gathered in its pupils.

It tried its best, but couldn't budge it even a little.

Since submitting to Zhang Yuan, this monstrous bird that roamed the seas felt increasingly useless.

"Even the flames of Nirvana cannot melt this chain..."

Beside Li Yu, a master craftsman in a gray robe whispered.

Zhao Chongshan, another chief craftsman in the Weapon Forging Hall, stood with his hair and beard bristling, and shouted in a deep voice: "Form the 'Nine Revolutions Star Forging Spirit Array'! Force resonance!"

The Ministry of Works' Refining Hall was the premier place for weapon refining in the Great Qin Dynasty.

How embarrassing would it be if they couldn't even handle a broken chain?
Upon hearing Zhao Chongshan's words, the nine master craftsmen took mysterious steps, and the rune-inscribed jade discs in their hands instantly formed an array.

"boom--"

The array patterns unfolded like a star map, with layers of overlapping oscillating ripples attempting to lock onto the Dao principles within the fragments of the Immortal Chain.

The ripples twisted and bounced violently when they touched the edge of the fragment, producing a tooth-grinding metallic scraping sound.

Zhao Chongshan's body trembled violently, his face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His tiger's mouth split open, and he staggered backward: "No! This remaining will is too domineering. The backlash from the formation is like stars being crushed!"

A look of dejection and resentment flashed in his eyes.

The air pressure in the entire weapon-refining area suddenly dropped, and everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to Zhang Yuan, who was watching from the sidelines.

Zhang Yuanxuan's robe fluttered slightly as he stepped into the core of the weapon-refining process.

The fire in the furnace suddenly stopped, as if a subject had bowed his head.

He didn't use any magical artifacts; he simply stretched out his right hand, fingers slightly spread, and reached straight for the fragment of the dark gold chain!
"My lord, you mustn't!" Li Yu exclaimed in shock.

Those are fragments of immortal artifacts that even spirit arrays cannot shake; their backlash is enough to shred black iron!

Everyone's hearts suddenly tightened.

However, the expected earth-shattering collision did not occur the moment Zhang Yuan's fingertips touched the edge of the immortal chain.

Those fragments, which seemed heavier than stars, were as light as pieces of wood, and he pinched them between his fingers and picked them up gently!
This was not a brute force, but a state of perfect control over power. The immense annihilating power contained in the immortal chain was like sand sinking into endless ruins in his palm, struggling in vain and crushing silently.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Zhang Yuan's left hand flashed like lightning, snatching the low-pitched Crimson Dragon Rope floating nearby.

"Om-!"

Zhang Yuan's aura suddenly changed.

A blazing fire dragon phantom rose from the crimson dragon rope on his left arm, while the immortal chain in his right palm emanated icy, deathly stardust-like freezing energy. One red, one blue; one life, one stillness; they clashed and collided violently in his hands! (End of Chapter)