Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

Chen Fan stopped five steps behind Chen Xuan.

In mid-air, Chen Tianyou, aboard the bronze flying boat, braced his hands on the railing and leaned forward slightly with excitement.

A smug, condescending smile played on his lips as he stared intently down below, waiting to see Chen Fan pull out his dagger and plunge it into Chen Xuan's back.

He desperately wanted to see Chen Xuan's desperate and helpless expression after being betrayed by his own people.

However, Chen Fan's body below shook violently a few times.

He didn't even touch the weapon hidden in his sleeve. Instead, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of thick, black blood!

The black blood fell onto the hard, black stone ground, making a hissing sound that made your teeth ache, and instantly corroded a deep pit emitting pungent white smoke. Chen Fan's legs completely lost their strength, and he slammed heavily onto the rubble.

"Chen Fan!"

Chen Mu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He dropped the long knife in his hand and scrambled over to catch Chen Fan's falling body.

At this moment, Chen Fan's face was ashen and deathly pale, and black energy emanated from beneath his skin, surging wildly like venomous snakes.

At the edge of the desolate sinkhole, the muffled sound of his meridians breaking inch by inch was so clear it sent chills down one's spine.

On the airship, Chen Tianyou's smile froze instantly.

He stared intently at the pool of black blood that Chen Fan had vomited, his face darkening visibly, looking as if he had swallowed a dead fly.

Su Chang'an, who had been leaning against the collapsed stone pillar eating sunflower seeds, also stopped what he was doing.

She brushed the sunflower seed shells off her palm and stood up straight.

Those alluring fox-like eyes narrowed slightly as they looked at Chen Fan, who lay in a pool of blood.

She had actually seen through Chen Fan's actions of changing the medicine long ago, but seeing this humble collateral descendant swallow the fatal poison without hesitation for Chen Xuan's sake, her heart, which had always only been calculating interests, was unusually moved.

"This kid has some guts," Su Chang'an muttered softly.

At the edge of the deep pit, Chen Fan gripped Chen Mu's arm tightly, his fingernails digging deep into Chen Mu's flesh.

He struggled to lift his head, looking at Chen Xuan's back in front of him, vomiting mouthfuls of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Big...Big Brother..."

Chen Fan's voice was trembling, but he spoke with all his might: "What I just gave you... wasn't a Soul-Scattering Pill at all... it was a Marrow Cleansing Pill that I had saved up for three years!"

The entire place was deathly silent, except for Chen Fan's labored breathing, which sounded like a broken bellows.

"Our ancestor left a divine soul imprint on the Soul-Scattering Pill... If the poison hasn't entered his stomach... he'll immediately sense it... At that point, all of us from the collateral branches... will die..."

Coughing up blood, Chen Fan gave a bitter laugh: "I can only... swallow the real poison myself... replace the outer shell with a Marrow Cleansing Pill... and hand it to you..."

Upon hearing this, all the Chen family members from collateral branches present were stunned, their eyes instantly turning red.

With his last ounce of strength, Chen Fan stared intently at Chen Xuan's retreating figure, letting out a beast-like roar: "Brother Chen Xuan! Grip your knife tightly! Fight for us... this collateral branch that has been trampled into the mud for generations... to have a chance to prove ourselves!"

"Fight your way through! Crush those self-important cronies... all of them under your feet!"

After shouting that last sentence, Chen Fan's head slumped down limply, and he completely fainted in Chen Mu's arms.

A cold wind swept across the sinkhole.

Chen Mu's hand trembled as he checked Chen Fan's faint breath, and tears welled up in his eyes.

He slowly stood up, bent down without saying a word, and picked up the long knife he had just dropped on the ground.

The dozens of collateral relatives around them silently wiped away their tears and picked up their weapons.

They raised their heads and stared intently at the richly dressed members of their inner circle on the airship. The fear and humility they once had in their eyes were gone, replaced by a ruthless ferocity that seemed ready to devour anyone who dared to harm them.

Chen Xuan slowly turned around and quietly looked at the unconscious Chen Fan.

He didn't speak, and his face showed no extra expression; he didn't even frown.

But his knuckles were cracking as he gripped the broken sword.

He turned around and looked again at the bronze flying boat hovering in mid-air, his gaze fixed on Chen Tianyou's furious face.

"boom!"

Within Chen Xuan's body, the spiritual power that had been solidified by the cold energy disguised by the Soul Scattering Pill was now being violently impacted by the pure medicinal power of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, like a flood breaking through a dam, forcibly breaking through all the blockages!

The scalding medicinal power surged wildly through his damaged meridians, and the cracks damaged in the previous battle were healing at an alarming rate.

Destruction precedes construction!

A violent black aura erupted from the depths of Chen Xuan's dantian, transforming into a tangible black current that swirled around his body.

The blood-stained black robe fluttered in the fierce wind, making him look like a god of death crawling out of hell.

A massive amount of power surged into the broken sword.

"Zheng—!"

The broken sword emitted a sword cry that pierced the sky!

Black sword energy shot into the sky, forcefully cleaving a huge gap in the thick fog above the sinkhole.

Chen Xuan's aura surged, directly overcoming his previous period of weakness and returning to his peak!

He stood still, his tangible killing intent causing the surrounding temperature to plummet to freezing.

"Useless! A bunch of good-for-nothings who can accomplish nothing but ruin everything!"

On the airship, Chen Tianyou roared in uncontrollable rage.

He couldn't accept that a discarded member of the family, who had been treated like trash, could still unleash such a terrifying power after going through so much scheming!

"Chen Xuan, you must die today!"

Chen Tianyou frantically formed hand seals, recklessly activating the Supreme Bone in his chest.

The purple divine light instantly illuminated the entire sinkhole, and the illusory image of the Great Emperor's Dharma Image in mid-air became incredibly solid.

Chen Tianyou bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the Dharma image.

The Great Emperor's Dharma Image clasped his hands together, condensing a purple light sword that was over ten feet long. With a world-destroying pressure, it slashed heavily down towards Chen Xuan's head!

"Hit me with my bones?"

Chen Xuan's lips curled into an extremely cold, mocking smile: "Have you lost your mind?"

He gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, and with a powerful stomp of his feet, the black stone beneath his feet instantly shattered into powder.

Chen Xuan transformed into a black lightning bolt, advancing instead of retreating, and soared into the sky to meet the falling purple light sword!

The strong wind tousled his black hair, revealing his cold, emotionless eyes.

No one understands the spiritual energy circulation of the Supreme Bone better than him, because that bone was originally something that grew out of his body!

Chen Xuan could find the weak point where its power converged with every breath it took, even with his eyes closed.

Chen Xuan's gaze was fixed on a dark spot in the middle of the purple lightsaber.

"break."

With a slight parting of his thin lips, the tip of the broken sword pierced precisely into that spot!

The black sword energy erupted in full force the moment they made contact.

"Click—"

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The seemingly invincible purple lightsaber cracked open in the middle, then shattered like fragile glass in mid-air, turning into a rain of purple light!

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Chen Tianyou's eyes nearly popped out; he was terrified.

His supreme bone technique, which he was so proud of, was actually broken in one move?

Seeing Chen Xuan rushing straight towards his face through the rain of light, Chen Tianyou frantically mobilized all his spiritual power, creating three thick purple defensive light shields in front of him.

Chen Xuan's figure did not pause at all, and the broken sword, carrying an indomitable and violent killing intent, slashed out horizontally!

"Sizzle!"

A flash of black sword light appeared, and the three defensive light shields, which were strong enough to withstand a blow from the Great Sage, were as fragile as paper in front of the broken sword. They shattered instantly with a crisp cracking sound!

The sword blade sliced ​​through Chen Tianyou's purple-gold robe without any resistance, severing his protective aura.

"Pfft!"

Blood rush!

Chen Tianyou's right arm was severed at the root, and with a long trail of warm blood, it flew directly into the air!

"Aaaaaaah—my hand!!!"

Chen Tianyou let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered, clutching his bleeding wound, losing his balance, and rolling around frantically on the deck in a sorry state.

The direct descendants of the Chen family on the airship were in complete uproar.

Some people panicked and rushed to help Chen Tianyou on the ground, while others frantically pulled out their magic weapons and aimed them at Chen Xuan in mid-air, but because their hands were shaking so badly, they didn't dare to launch an attack.

In mid-air, the tiger's mouth holding Chen Xuan's sword split open again.

His blood dripped down the hilt of the sword, striking the black stone below.

The blood essence of the imperial clan that gushed from Chen Tianyou's severed arm also spilled along the edge of the flying boat, falling generously into the depths of the sinkhole.

Their blood seeped silently into the crevices of the black rocks at the bottom of the pit.

"Boom—!!!"

Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from the entire Dragon Burial Pit!

The ground began to shake violently, and huge rocks fell off the pit walls, crashing into the bottomless darkness.

The black mist that had lingered at the bottom of the pit for years was instantly dispelled by an invisible and terrifying force.

Below, a vast and breathtaking array of ancient runes was revealed.

The array patterns greedily absorbed the falling blood, bursting forth with a dazzling scarlet light!

The true ancient emperor's palace has finally revealed its majestic outline at the bottom of the pit.

Two massive bronze doors creaked and slowly opened to the sides, revealing a staircase paved with white bones that stretched into the unknown depths of darkness.

Immediately afterwards, an irresistible and enormous suction force erupted from the center of the array!

"What's going on?!"

The bronze flying boat, which had been hovering in mid-air, instantly lost all power, and the control array completely failed. The massive hull spun around and plummeted rapidly towards the bottom of the pit.

A large area of ​​black rock at the edge of the sinkhole collapsed.

"Damn it! The space is sealed off, the array is useless!" The Wang family goddess, who was so proud of her aloof and elegant tableware, shattered completely, letting out a terrified scream.

Chen Mu held onto the unconscious Chen Fan tightly, and clung to the other collateral descendants as they slid down the collapsed rubble.

Amidst the howling wind, Su Chang'an offered no resistance to the suction force.

Using the pulling force, she skillfully adjusted her posture in mid-air and floated straight towards Chen Xuan.

"You unfilial son, what are you daydreaming about? Hold on tight to your mother!" Su Chang'an's clear voice was particularly distinct amidst the chaos.

Chen Xuan snapped back to his senses and pulled Su Chang'an, who was floating over, tightly into his arms, using his broad back to block the gust of wind surging up from below.

The next second, Chen Xuan, Su Chang'an, the collateral descendants of the Chen family, and the Wang family members in the distance all lost their balance.

Everyone was like a leaf caught in a whirlpool, pulled tightly by this immense force, and plunged completely into the bottomless imperial tomb.

Just as the poem says:

She secretly exchanged the elixir for poison, swallowing the poisoned elixir; her frail body wept blood, stirring up a mournful wind.

In dire straits, the blade sharpens once more; the supreme being's bones shatter, leaving only a void of purple light.

The sword rose with a startling force, shattering the emperor's arm; blood flowed across the earth, opening the dark palace.

A raging storm sweeps away the shadows of a thousand autumns; hand in hand, we explore the primordial chaos from the abyss.