Daqin Zhentiansi

The moment Zhang Yuan and his group stepped into the array's range, it was as if they had awakened a slumbering, ancient evil spirit!

“Ouch——!!!”

A raging torrent of blood!
Four blood-red dragons, each a thousand feet long, formed from pure Immortal-Slaying Sword Qi, burst forth from the pool!

The dragon's roar transformed into a tangible torrent of sound waves, mixed with countless tiny sword energies that tore through space, sweeping indiscriminately towards all intruders!
"Form the formation! The Nine Abyss is indestructible!"

Wu Daoling's beard and hair stood on end, his right arm was withered and dry, yet it was firmly bound to his blood-stained sword, his one arm supporting the sky!
Behind them, three thousand Yongtian sword cultivators roared in unison, and the remaining martial soul sword domains were once again condensed with difficulty, transforming into a huge, cracked, black gold shield that stood in front of them.

"Chichichichi——!"

The crimson sword energy and dragon breath struck the Xuanjin giant shield, producing a tooth-grinding corrosive and cutting sound!
The shield was instantly covered with cracks. One after another, the sword cultivators in the front row were swept up by the dragon's breath, their armor and bodies engulfed. Their black iron armor crumbled like a sandcastle, their flesh and blood evaporated in an instant by the sword energy. They didn't even have time to scream. All that was left were pools of blood that quickly crystallized into crimson blood!
Wu Daoling's eyes were bloodshot, blood was flowing from his mouth and nose, and his whole body was hunched over. His sword domain was about to collapse, but the words "fight to the death and never retreat" were engraved into the marrow of every surviving soldier!
They used their blood, flesh, and willpower to create a crack for Zhang Yuan!
"Heh heh... Marquis Qingyang, I'll send you on your way with this wretched life of mine!"

A piercing, eerie laugh rang out; it was Yin Xiaozi!

A slightly weaker version of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Qi, transformed into a blood python, cunningly bypassed the main army formation and attacked a dim array node behind Zhang Yuan from the flank.

A glint of madness and determination flashed in Yin Xiaozi's eyes. His withered body suddenly swelled up, and his dark green cloak completely transformed into liquid demonic energy!
"Ten Thousand Souls! Explode!"

He instantly ignited his demonic soul essence, cultivated over hundreds of years, along with the Myriad Fiends Gathering Soul Banner, transforming it into a thick, ink-like barrier burning with his natal demonic fire, which crashed fiercely into the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Qi!

"Bang—Sizzle!!!"

The dark green barrier only blocked the blood python for a moment before being completely pierced, torn apart, and evaporated by the unparalleled Immortal Slaying Sword Qi!
Amidst his maniacal laughter, Yin Xiaozi's withered body crumbled into ashes, leaving only his pair of eerie green eyes that, before dissipating, remained fixed on Zhang Yuan's figure, ultimately vanishing into nothingness.

This cunning and despicable demonic overlord, who chose to make a heroic exit at the critical moment of life and death, sacrificed his own body and soul to preserve a precious turning point for Zhang Yuan.

At the same time, the entire space descended into purgatory.

The Heavenly Fire Valley elder who charged the fastest was swept away by the Immortal Sword Qi, and his protective magic treasure was instantly reduced to ashes.

The Frosty Sword Domain of the Holy Son of Taixu Sword Pavilion shattered inch by inch under the silent erosion of the Immortal-Slaying Sword, eventually freezing and weathering away along with the sword.

The powerful figures who had rushed in earlier now burst into the formation like fireworks, their last bloody light illuminating the array, but they didn't even have a chance to get close to the core before becoming nourishment for the array's operation.

They proved with their lives that this place was indeed the strongest filter of the ancient battlefield, and that only the most outstanding geniuses and those with unparalleled martial spirits were qualified to leave their remains behind!
Just as the chaos and bloodshed reached their peak, a blurry figure of an old man in white slowly materialized at the core of the blood pool's array.

His face was blurred, except for his eyes, which were as cold as ancient ice, devoid of any human emotion.

He surveyed the carnage and destruction in the midst of the battle with indifference, as if watching ants struggle.

“A bunch of fools, trying to seize power that does not belong to you... Perfect, let us use your blood and essence to quell the wrath of the Sword Tomb and pave the way for the arrival of our lord.”

The old man in white's voice had no intonation, yet it resonated clearly in the hearts of every living person, carrying a suffocating arrogance and a chilling coldness.

He slowly raised his illusory right hand.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!..."

In an instant, the entire Hundred-Mile Array Diagram began to spin wildly, and thirteen terrifying phantoms appeared out of thin air behind it!

There are shadows of calamity fire condensed from raging flames, ghostly lights of malevolent spirits formed from pure resentment, and spears of cold bones piled up from countless white bones...

The projections of the Thirteen Ferocious Swords were summoned instantly!

Each phantom emanated a ferocious, primal power that eclipsed the very fabric of the world!

"Roar—! Spirit of the formation?! You dare to wield my power?!"

Within Zhang Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness, Bai Qi's demonic thoughts roared in fury. His struggle with the Frosty Bone Sword seemed to be forcibly triggered and interfered with by the array spirit at this moment!
"Bai Qi, you brat? Humph!"

For the first time, the white-robed array spirit let out a clear, disdainful snort.

"You are nothing but a defeated army ravaged by the backlash of the evil sword. Do you even deserve to take charge of the core of the Sword Tomb? Becoming nourishment for my master's sword is your final fate!"

The words were like knives, piercing Bai Qi's remnant soul and causing it to roar in agony.

Almost at the same instant the spirit summoned the thirteen phantoms, another area that was mostly swallowed by the sea of ​​blood suddenly lit up with a blinding red light of tribulation fire!

"Hahaha! Zhang Yuan! Heaven decrees your death! Sacrifice! With the blood and souls of my Zixiao Sect disciples, awaken the true meaning of the Calamity Flame!"

It was Xiao Zhengtian's frantic roar!
He was enveloped in the crimson light of the Calamity Fire Sword Talisman, his eyes were blood red, and he no longer had any immortal demeanor, only naked madness and destructive desire!
Ignoring the cries and despair of the remaining disciples around him, he wildly swung his demonic claws, smashing and refining the core disciples of Zixiao Palace who had just been forming an array and were now imprisoned by his power!
The rich essence and soul mixed with the light of the Calamity Fire Talisman were forcibly injected into the most solid illusory image of the Calamity Fire Fierce Sword!
"Master—!!"

"Xiao Zhengtian! You'll die a horrible death!!"

The screams abruptly stopped!

That wisp of calamity fire sword shadow, which was originally under the control of the array spirit, still had a traceable trajectory. But now, it was catalyzed by Xiao Zhengtian's frantic sacrifice of blood of the same origin and the Zixiao Dao technique, and suddenly expanded a hundredfold!
A crimson sword light, seemingly capable of incinerating all the heavens and myriad worlds, carrying Xiao Zhengtian's mad will to perish together with him, no longer attacked the nodes of the array diagram. Instead, like an out-of-control meteor that scorched the sky, it tore through space and pointed directly at the core array eye behind Zhang Yuan!

Objective: Destroy the core of the formation, detonate the entire Zhuxian Sword Formation, and take everyone down with you!

The spirit of the formation snorted coldly and did not stop it, as this was part of the cleansing process.

"Fire! Die!"

Faced with this world-burning sword that could annihilate a half-saint, Zhang Yuan's eyes swirled with chaotic star wheels, and his black robes billowed like flags!
Without hesitation, he threw out the "Formation-Breaking Cone" that was gleaming with dark light!
This divine artifact, obtained from the fifth level of the Sword Pavilion and specifically designed to break spatial restrictions, transformed into a dark, piercing stream of light under the influence of the chaotic true essence infused by Zhang Yuan and the deathly power originating from the "Fiend Soul" that he had just seized.

With unparalleled precision, just as the fiery sword shadow was about to touch the core of the formation, it ruthlessly pierced its most intense and violent core energy node!

"Punch it in!"

Zhang Yuan roared!

"Hold on!"

His response was Wu Daoling's almost teeth-grinding roar!

The Martial Soul Sword Domain, already riddled with holes, burst forth with its final brilliance in that instant. More than three thousand Yongtian sword cultivators seemed to transform into the foundation of the earth, standing firmly between the calamity fire sword shadows and the military formation!

The barrier constructed from chaotic true essence, the heavy black iron armor, and the burning battle spirit will clashed, consumed, and annihilated the escaping Heaven-Burning Tribulation Fire!
Space was torn apart by the energy storm, and more soldiers were silently reduced to ashes. But the out-of-control sword shadow of calamity fire was pinned down a few feet outside the array's core. The raging energy struggled and roared like a trapped dragon, but could not advance an inch further!
"Roar—! You ants! How dare you stop me?!"

The spirit's cold snort finally carried a hint of anger.

The tenacious performance of Zhang Yuan and others clearly exceeded its expectations.

At that moment, Zhang Yuan suddenly looked up, his gaze shooting like lightning towards the throne piled with white bones deep in the blood pool.

On the throne, a semi-transparent phantom was solidifying, and an aura of icy stillness permeated the air.

That is the true source of the Frostbone Fierce Sword's will projected through this formation. Once it is fully condensed, Bai Qi's remnant soul will be completely suppressed!

Don't miss out!

A fierce glint flashed in Zhang Yuan's eyes, and without hesitation, he took out the cracked, jet-black bone armor fragment that he had obtained from the leader of the White Bone Sword Guard!

This fragment contains the painful imprint of Lord Wu'an Bai Qi's struggle against the Cold Bone Fierce Sword!
"Lord Wu'an! If you don't reveal your true form now, when will you?!"

Zhang Yuan roared and simultaneously poured a wisp of his Chaos True Essence and the power of the Soul-Slaying Sword Talisman into the bone armor fragments!

“Sizzle——!!!”

The fragments suddenly burst forth with blinding black light!
A shrill, extremely painful cry resounded throughout the heavens and earth, as if it were an unwilling roar from the deepest part of the Nine Nether Hell!
The bone armor fragments transformed into a streak of dark light, ignoring spatial distance, and instantly disappeared into the translucent phantom on the white bone throne!

"Ughhhhh—Zhang Yuan! You—!!"

The Bone Throne suddenly trembled violently!

The half-solidified, cold and ruthless phantom suddenly twisted its face. One half remained a merciless and vicious sword, while the other half forcibly revealed a resolute yet pained, murderous and unwilling blurry human face—Bai Qi's face!

The void cracked open!

Like a broken eggshell!
An extremely bizarre body, with an even greater sense of oppression than before, was forced out of the distorted spatial rift!
His upper body was covered by tattered black armor, which still retained an ancient bronze luster, and the imposing silhouette of the Qin warriors could still be vaguely seen.

Beneath the armor plates, the exposed arms and chest were bulging with muscles, exuding a dark golden, iron-blooded aura and radiating the immortal will of a battle-hardened war god.

His upper body was entirely composed of stark white bones!
Spine, ribs, leg bones...

A thin, hard layer of gray-blue ice covered the pale bones, burning with a deadly flame that could freeze the soul!
Where the white bones met the black ice, wisps of dark sword energy coiled and roamed like living things, frantically eroding the remaining flesh and life force.

His head was even more horrifying.

The left half of his face was intact, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, the lines as hard as if carved by a knife and axe, and his eyes as if tempered by countless battlefields, sharp, tired but incredibly resilient.

On the right side, from the forehead to the jaw, it has completely transformed into a cold skull inlaid with eerie blue ice crystals!
Deep within the ice crystals, a crimson soul flame flickered, coldly gazing upon everything in the world, filled with hatred and hunger for flesh and blood.

Half-human, half-skeletal!

Half-god, half-demon!

The true form of Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi!
It was forced upon us!

"Zhang Yuan!"

The throat bones of the half-human, half-bone creature rubbed together, emitting a hoarse roar that was not human. It was filled with the rage and endless pain of being forcibly interrupted and forced to manifest, yet it also carried an incomparably familiar majesty and desolation.

"Without the power of the evil sword to suppress the universe, how can the Great Qin... suppress this land teeming with demons and monsters?! How... can it... protect this land and its people?!"

"I invited you to the Sword Tomb to retrieve the cursed sword for the Great Qin."

"We are not doing this for ourselves, but for the Great Qin!"

The roar echoed throughout the blood-soaked formation, striking everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

His words revealed the bloody predicament of the Qin Empire and also expressed his cruel determination to sacrifice himself to seize the murderous sword and protect the Qin Empire!

At this point, the foreshadowing of his personal invitation to Zhang Yuan to enter the Sword Tomb became completely clear.

The white shadow of the array spirit was forced to retreat by the terrifying aura emanating from Bai Qi, which was of the same origin as the Cold Bone Fierce Sword yet opposed to it, and its movements in controlling the thirteen illusory swords also paused.

"Now! The spirit of Senior Zhao Zhou! Help me!"

Cheng Yue's eyes burned with the light of the Guardian Sword Soul. The moment he sensed Bai Qi's arrival and the resulting instability in the array, he unhesitatingly activated the pale golden Guardian Sword Soul deep within his dantian! The sword soul burst into flames!
"Protect Zhao Zhou! Revive the Daoist tradition!"

Sun Ming, Zhou Yue, and all the remaining elite disciples of Zhao Zhou roared in unison, following closely behind Cheng Yue, and without hesitation burned their own essence, blood, and soul, turning into streams of golden light that surged wildly into Cheng Yue's body!
"hold head high--!"

An ancient and vast will has been awakened!
Beneath the blood pool, countless ancient swords, dull and corrupted by malevolent energy, hummed and vibrated. Points of sword spirit remnants containing the ancient essence of Zhao Zhou escaped, crossing space and merging into the suddenly appearing, faintly visible phantom of an ancient bronze sword tomb in front of Cheng Yue!
The phantom was ancient and imposing, carrying the aura of being sealed for ten thousand years, and suddenly slammed down on the white-robed array spirit!

"Hmm? Remnants of the Zhao family?"

For the first time, the spirit's indifferent voice carried a clear hint of surprise and doubt!
This ancient sealing power from the very source of the Sword Tomb is actually weakening its control over the core of the formation!
The crucial moment!
Just as the array spirit was briefly suppressed by the power of Zhao Zhou's ancestor, Bai Qi was tormented by his own internal contradictions, and the core of the entire Hundred-Mile Array Diagram was fluctuating most violently!
Zhang Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the half of the jade pendant in his hand, which he had obtained from the core of the fifth-level Sword Pavilion, suddenly shone with a cold, clear light!

At the same time, the heavy sword on his back emitted an unprecedented resonant tremor!
The entire sword vibrated violently, as if it were about to leave its sheath!

"bass--!"

With a soft hum, a broken, grayish-white sword shadow, which shared the same origin as Yue Yuan's heavy sword but was more condensed and ancient, shot out from the edge of Yue Yuan's sword and instantly entered the half of the jade pendant in Zhang Yuan's hand!

The light flashes!

The missing part of the jade pendant was instantly filled by the gray-white sword energy!

The warm, smooth jade body and the cold, deathly sword intent blended perfectly to form a complete, ancient token with the character "冢" (tomb) engraved on one side and broken sword marks on the other.

Sword Tomb Core Key!
The moment this key appears, it's like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil!
The entire Hundred-Mile Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation trembled violently! (End of Chapter)