Chapter 917: Ancient Killing Formation

Bare-handed?

That... that's a Tianjing artifact!

Witnessing Ye Chen clash bare-handed against the Xue Ling Shen Dao, not only the Xue Ling Shi Jia but also the onlookers felt their hearts seize up.

A Tianjing artifact is forged by Tianjing cultivators, infused with their Dao principles, making its power so immense it can instantly annihilate a Zhun Tianjing expert. Yet Ye Chen was confronting it bare-handed, a scene too shocking to comprehend.

Boom!

Under everyone's gaze, the demonic fist met the soaring blade light, erupting in a world-shattering explosion. The blade light shattered instantly.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Three spouts of blood echoed in succession as the three Zhun Tianjing experts were sent flying by the backlash.

Ye Chen extended his demonic hand and seized the Xue Ling Shen Dao floating in the void.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

With the divine blade in hand, it hummed incessantly, its overflowing blood energy corroding Ye Chen's body in resistance.

Ye Chen's demonic eyes flashed with demonic light, surging with demonic aura to eradicate the resistant blood energy. However, he didn't destroy the artifact spirit within—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. It was the spirit of a Tianjing artifact, beyond his ability to kill.

Although he couldn't kill it, he managed to suppress the Xue Ling Shen Dao's artifact spirit.

Kill him!

Xue Ling Old Ancestor roared again. This was within the Xue Ling Shi Jia territory; not only had they been utterly defeated, but even their clan's treasured artifact had been seized. It was a humiliation, a complete disgrace.

Kill!

Crowds from all directions surged forward once more, converging into a vast ocean that rolled toward Ye Chen.

Zing!

Ye Chen swung the demonic sword Chi Xiao, sweeping a swath across the void with one strike.

Buzz!

He then brandished the Xue Ling Shen Dao, a Tianjing artifact carrying the might of an emperor, unstoppable wherever it passed.

Boom!

With a tremendous boom, the ground of the Xue Ling Shi Jia cracked open.

Gazing into the distance, a vast sea of blood surged forth, carrying a massive ancient altar. The altar was bound with countless vengeful souls, their wails and howls piercing and eerie, sending chills through everyone's hearts.

"Xue Tu Great Array!" An elder cultivator spotted it from afar and trembled involuntarily.

"Senior, what is the origin of that great array?" The younger cultivators turned to the elder.

"It is an ancient killing formation that requires the sacrifice of lives to awaken its power," the elder explained slowly. "Its terror lies in the fact that the more lives sacrificed, the stronger its power becomes, with no upper limit. Ancient legends say this killing formation once slew a Tianjing cultivator—it is a supremely ominous array."

"Slayed... slayed a Tianjing cultivator?" The young cultivators' hearts quivered.

"It seems the Xue Ling Shi Jia has stood strong in Da Chu for tens of thousands of years for a reason," someone remarked thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "With the Xue Ling Shen Dao and the Xue Tu killing formation, it's no wonder even the Shi Xue Hall dares not provoke them lightly."

Ah...!

As the crowd discussed, screams of terror echoed from the Xue Ling Shi Jia.

Looking over, Xue Ling Old Ancestor was personally controlling the Xue Tu Great Array. The array spun rapidly, forming vortices that sucked in members of the Xue Ling Shi Jia in droves, instantly turning them into desiccated corpses.

Hiss...!

Everyone drew a sharp breath.

The Xue Tu Great Array already held vengeful souls, yet Xue Ling Old Ancestor was not satisfied—he was sacrificing his own clan members alive.

Witnessing this, the onlookers instinctively stepped back. Xue Ling Old Ancestor had truly been driven mad by Ye Chen, willing to sacrifice his clan to boost the array's power.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

After devouring countless lives' fresh blood, the Xue Tu Great Array trembled violently, unleashing an overwhelming pressure. The void churned with storm clouds, thunder rampaged, and blood-red lightning tore through the heavens and earth, splitting the sky apart.

Slay him!

Xue Ling Old Ancestor thundered, his voice shaking the heavens.

Immediately, the Xue Tu Great Array quaked again, unleashing a devastating divine beam wreathed in black thunder, carrying destructive force.

The divine beam was incredibly powerful, piercing straight through the void and reducing mountains in its path to dust. Even members of the Xue Ling Shi Jia were caught in its wake, vaporizing in waves.

Buzz!

Ye Chen drew the Wu Huang War Spear, hurling it from hundreds of meters away, also wrapped in thunder.

In full view, the Wu Huang War Spear collided with the divine beam.

On impact, the Wu Huang War Spear was flung away, while the divine beam surged onward, hurtling toward Ye Chen.

Zing!

The Chi Xiao sword rang out, pointing to the horizon as thousands of swords manifested and merged into one, launching the Demonic Ten Thousand Swords Unity.

Yet, the Xue Tu Great Array's divine beam was too strong; even Ten Thousand Swords Unity shattered.

Ye Chen unleashed divine abilities one after another, all powerful single strikes, but they only slightly altered the beam's trajectory.

Tai Xu Cave!

In a critical moment, Ye Chen raised his hand, invoking the Tai Xu secret art to form a dark vortex.

However, though the Tai Xu Cave was profound, it couldn't withstand the Xue Tu Great Array's pressure. It failed to absorb the beam and exploded after less than a second.

Pfft!

Ye Chen's chest was pierced on the spot—this was even after he used Tai Xu Shift; otherwise, it would have been his head.

The supreme demonic god was wounded, his fresh blood splattering the void. He could clash with a Tianjing artifact bare-handed, yet the ancient killing formation pierced his body, revealing its terrifying might.

Kill him!

Seeing Ye Chen injured, Xue Ling Old Ancestor bellowed furiously, allowing no time for recovery.

Experts from the Xue Ling Shi Jia swarmed from all sides, their numbers like a tidal wave. Spiritual weapons, divine abilities, and array diagrams filled the sky, engulfing Ye Chen completely.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Deafening explosions echoed continuously, the void engulfed in divine light, shattering the heavens and earth.

Is he dead?

Once the booms subsided, someone whispered.

Not just the onlookers, but even the Xue Ling Shi Jia members activated their heavenly eyes. It was a massive assault, enough to obliterate any Zhun Tianjing expert on the spot.

Yet, they weren't certain if it could kill Ye Chen. After all, he wasn't an ordinary Zhun Tianjing—he was an exceptionally powerful one, on par with the various kings.

Bang!

As all watched, the void erupted with a massive blast, making everyone's hearts tremble.

Looking up, through the rolling blood mist, a blurred figure slowly emerged. His blood-red hair flew wildly, stepping on a sea of demonic blood, one hand gripping the Xue Ling Shen Dao and the other the demonic sword Chi Xiao.

This...!

Whether onlookers or Xue Ling Shi Jia members, disbelief filled their faces.

That was the Xue Tu Great Array! Enhanced by sacrificing so many lives, surpassing even the Xue Ling Shen Dao, it had gravely wounded him and been followed by a joint assault—yet he still lived. They couldn't imagine what could kill Ye Chen.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As everyone was stunned, the void boomed again.

Ye Chen stepped forward, each step heavy, each one making the void rumble.

He wasn't dead, but severely wounded. His innate demonic gang qi armor had shattered, the Eight Trigrams array diagram had collapsed, and his body was covered in bloody bones, a gruesome sight.

However, his recovery was astonishing; wounds healed rapidly, fractured bones mended quickly, leaving all in awe.

What was most terrifying wasn't this, but his blood.

As an Huanggu Saint Body, his blood was golden, yet in everyone's eyes, the flowing blood was visibly turning black, each drop laced with black thunder.

"Blood Succession Limit!" In the Tianxuan Gate's grand hall, Donghuang Tai Xin, who had been leisurely flipping through ancient books, suddenly stood up.

"He actually activated the Blood Succession Limit."

"Without the Huanggu Saint Body's divine repository, he activated the Huanggu Saint Body's Blood Succession Limit."

"How is this possible?" Donghuang Tai Xin kept taking deep breaths, her expression shocked as she stared at Ye Chen in the illusionary water curtain.

"Saint Master, what is the Blood Succession Limit?" Seeing her so astonished, Fu Ya tentatively asked.

"It is a state achieved when bloodline reaches ultimate sublimation, the supreme realm of bloodlines. Once activated, speed, strength, recovery, and Dao principles all undergo ultimate enhancement."

"From what you say, it sounds a bit like his demonic state," Fu Ya stroked his chin. "Though the amplification of that demonic state is still a step below this Blood Succession Limit."

"Not just a step—it's on a completely different level."

"But even so, you don't need to be this shocked, right?"

"What do you know?" Donghuang Tai Xin inhaled deeply. "From the dawn of chaos to now, across all heavens and myriad domains, there has never been a precedent of an Huanggu Saint Body activating the Blood Succession Limit. This is a sign."