Chapter 317: Immortal Fall Battlefield: Treading Bones, the Slaughter‑Crystal Demon Soul Tests the Blade

Wang Ping restrained his breath, like a wisp of gray smoke merging into the chaotic mist, cautiously advancing on the shattered earth of the Azure Void Realm.

The residual waves from the collision of several Void Refinement-level forces in the distance, though intermittent, were like a lighthouse in the night, indicating his general direction.

He was not in a hurry to rush, constantly keeping his divine sense at the edge of the thirty-zhang Five Elements Chaos Domain, carefully probing everything around him.

After leaving the Secluded Closure Valley by roughly ten thousand li, the terrain began to change noticeably. The ground was no longer merely gray-brown and cracked; large swaths of scorched black appeared, as if burned by endless flames.

The lingering immortal spirit qi in the air remained rich, yet mixed with an unshakable aura of killing intent, icy cold, and resentment, making one's soul unconsciously feel oppressed.

The frequency of appearing broken law fragments increased, and most were stained with dark red or black, emitting an ominous aura.

Occasionally, he could see huge skeletons half-buried in the dust. Some resembled dragons yet were not, winding like mountain ridges, their bones crystal-clear like jade yet covered in cracks and scorch marks.

Some took the form of giant birds, their feather bones scattered yet still flickering with a faint rosy light; even more were bizarre, indescribable bones, clearly not belonging to any living thing Wang Ping knew. These skeletons, immortal through countless ages, silently spoke of the cruelty of that ancient battle.

"It seems the direction is correct, getting ever closer to the ancient battlefield area." Wang Ping's heart tightened, and he grew more cautious. He had to guard not only against possible living dangers, but also against the lethal intent of the "dead things" hidden in this environment—those shattered laws, accumulated killing qi, and even the lingering obsession within the bones themselves.

That day, as he was bypassing a stone forest formed from the ruined walls of a collapsed immortal palace, his heart suddenly sounded an alarm!

"Woo—howl—!"

A chorus of inhuman, inhuman roars filled with endless pain and savagery burst forth without warning from a thick blood-colored mist ahead! Immediately, a dark-red shadow, wrapped in a piercing yin-killing cold wind, lunged out!

Wang Ping's pupils contracted; his body instantly shifted sideways ten zhang. Where he had stood, the ground hissed, corroded into a pit about a zhang deep, its edges dark red and wisping black smoke.

He then saw the attacker clearly: a roughly three-zhang-tall humanoid monster with an indistinct form. Its body was composed of intertwined dark-red and black mist, through which the outline of damaged armor could be faintly seen.

Two pulsating blood-red light spots occupied its head, like eyes, exuding pure malice and madness. The monster's body was entwined with thick killing qi, resentment, and a familiar fluctuation of shattered immortal dao laws that Wang Ping recognized.

"Immortal Slaughter Demon Soul!" Wang Ping immediately recalled the fragmentary information mentioned in the appendix of the damaged scroll of the Chaos Immortal Classic. These are special fiends formed after ancient immortals and demons fell, when their remnants combined with the battlefield's accumulated killing qi, resentment, and shattered laws over countless ages.

They possess no intelligence, only the instinct to devour living beings and strengthen themselves; their strength varies, depending on the origin of the fused remnant soul and the density of the killing qi.

This one before him gave off an aura roughly equivalent to mid Nascent Soul, yet the sense of danger it gave Wang Ping was stronger than that of the intelligent Immortal Spirit Beast he had encountered earlier!

Because its attacks contained killing qi and resentment that could erode the flesh, pollute spiritual power, and shake the soul!

The dark-red demon soul, missing its strike, let out an even more frenzied howl; its arms (condensed mist) swept fiercely, launching dozens of blades formed from pure killing qi—dark-red blood blades—that shot toward Wang Ping like a heavenly net, sealing off all his evasion space.

Wang Ping's eyes turned cold; he no longer concealed himself.

"Perfect, I'll test my skill on you!"

A slight thought stirred, and the thirty-zhang Five Elements Chaos Domain erupted outward!

A hazy gray halo spread in all directions; the dark-red blood blades rushing into the domain saw their speed sharply drop, the killing-light on their blades rapidly dimmed, and their structure became unstable.

"Disperse!" Wang Ping barked low; within the domain the five phases reversed, yin and yang fell into chaos, and those dozens of blood blades, before even nearing him, spontaneously shattered in midair, turning back into scattered killing qi, which the chaos domain slowly swallowed and assimilated.

The demon soul seemed enraged, or perhaps simply knew no fear, and it directly charged into Wang Ping's domain!

The chaotic laws and distorted spiritual power within the domain indeed caused it great disturbance; its misty body violently fluctuated, its form grew somewhat unstable, and its speed greatly decreased. Yet it fearlessly lunged forward, its blood-red eyes blazing wide, opening a misty maw, and exhaling a more concentrated dark-red killing breath laced with a piercing spiritual shock!

"A soul attack mixed with killing qi corrosion?" Wang Ping raised his eyebrows slightly; the "Purple Dawn Soul-Protecting Order" on his chest warmed slightly, actively shielding his soul and nullifying that spiritual impact. Facing the killing breath, he did not dodge, his right hand's fingers together like a sword, a wisp of profound chaos-gray spiritual power ebbing and flowing at his fingertips.

"Chaos Slaughter God Sword Blade!"

A sword blade barely a chi long, entirely chaos-gray yet with edges flowing with the intent to shatter everything sharp, shot forth from his hand. Though the blade seemed insignificant, it contained a trace of Wang Ping's newly grasped chaos immortal elemental embryo, and the true meaning of laws fused with metal's sharpness, fire's ferocity, and chaos's assimilation.

The sword blade collided head-on with the killing breath.

The fierce clash imagined did not occur. The Chaos Slaughter God Sword Blade, like a hot knife cutting into solidified fat, easily tore apart the dark-red killing qi—qi potent enough to taint spiritual treasures and erode Nascent Soul—upon contacting the blade's chaos-gray edge, it melted and assimilated as swiftly as ice meeting boiling oil!

The sword blade's momentum undiminished, it pierced precisely between the two blood-red light spots on the monster's chest amid its startled howl (if it had emotions).

"Sss—!"

Like a red-hot iron plunged into water, the demon soul's massive misty body stiffened instantly, emitting a shrill wail to the utmost. The chaos sword blade exploded within it; wherever the chaos-gray light passed, the killing qi, resentment, and remnant soul fragments composing its body were utterly shattered, annihilated, and assimilated by force.

In just three breaths, this mid Nascent Soul Immortal Slaughter Demon Soul completely dissipated into the air, leaving only a pigeon-egg-sized irregular crystal, dark-red in hue, within which black mist seemed to swirl, which landed with a soft "ding" on the ground.

Wang Ping slowly withdrew his domain, his breath steady. He approached the crystal and drew it in. The crystal felt icy cold to the bone, emitting a pure yet extremely negative killing energy, yet at its core faintly lingered a trace of energy that had been refined to the extreme, almost primordial.

"Immortal Slaughter Crystal..." Wang Ping recognized the object. It is the core of an Immortal Slaughter Demon Soul, containing highly concentrated battlefield killing qi, the essence of resentment, and a faint trace of the immortal-demonic origin twisted and corrupted by killing qi.

For cultivators practicing certain special demonic arts, ghostly ways, or body-refining techniques, it is a supreme treasure. Even for him, if handled properly, it could be used to temper the flesh (requiring extreme caution), or as material for refining certain special magical treasures and talismans.

"A good start, not bad." Wang Ping stored the medium-grade Immortal Slaughter Crystal, his gaze turning toward the deeper blood-colored mist. He knew this was merely the edge of the ancient battlefield; the true danger lay ahead.

Only after formally stepping into the core region called the Immortal Fall Ancient Battlefield by later explorers did Wang Ping truly grasp what a "life-forbidden zone" meant.

The sky was no longer a constant azure void; it was shrouded in perennial blood‑black and ink‑dark clouds, within which twisted lightning occasionally flashed—the manifestation of colliding shattered laws.

The earth seemed plowed countless times, riddled with wounds; huge cracks crisscrossed, some bottomless, exhaling yin‑cold killing winds.

Piles of bleached white bones lay everywhere like mountains—some immortal, some demonic, most of unrecognizable species; many bones still bore broken weapons, or retained terrifying dao-law scars.

The air was saturated with thick, inseparable killing qi, resentment, death qi, and countless kinds of chaotic, conflicting, clashing law energies.

An ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator here would not only have sluggish spiritual circulation, but also constantly suffer soul‑shaking from negative emotions, and must always guard against sudden eruptions of law turbulence or ambushes by demon souls lurking in the killing mist and bones.

Wang Ping kept his Five Elements Chaos Domain at a ten‑zhang radius, daring not to expand fully lest it consume too much and draw attention. The domain's gray light circulated, barely repelling most negative qi and chaotic laws, but the stark, sorrow‑laden, resentful current that pierced straight to the soul could not be completely blocked.

In his ears seemed countless faint roars, shouts, and sobs whispering—those were the endless echoes of the ancient battlefield.

His advance slowed greatly; each step was taken with utmost care. His divine sense was heavily suppressed, able to probe only about a hundred zhang around, while he had to devote most of his mind to resisting the environment's erosion.

Over a short hundred‑li journey, Wang Ping faced seven attacks by Immortal Slaughter Demon Souls. These demon souls varied in form—some retained a humanoid warrior shape, others were beast‑like, insect‑like, or even indistinct masses of mist.

Their strength ranged from early to late Nascent Soul. Most lacked intelligence, attacking brutally; yet precisely because of that, they were harder to deal with—knowing no fear, fearing no injury, only madly assaulting until one side was utterly destroyed.

Relying on the great suppression of negative energy by his chaos domain, and the special assimilation effect of his chaos immortal elemental embryo on killing qi, he repeatedly turned peril into safety.

He no longer pursued swift kills, but used combat to continually hone his newly grasped divine abilities, familiarizing himself with the fighting rhythm in such a harsh environment.

After a prolonged battle with a late‑Nascent Soul giant bone‑beast demon soul, he finally shattered its core killing crystal using an embryonic form of the "Chaos Initial Opening Seal," then took temporary refuge behind a natural cover formed from a broken giant spear shaft.

His breath was slightly ragged, the expenditure not small, yet his eyes grew sharper. Continuous combat made his use of chaos power more proficient, and his domain became more refined.

Taking advantage of this respite, he also gathered some valuable items from relatively safe corners.

Several palm‑sized metal fragments, dull and lacking luster yet of extraordinary material, appeared to be the debris of a shattered immortal artifact; though their spirituality was gone, they remained precious as refining materials.

A section of finger bone, crystal‑clear like jade yet entwined with a faint black aura, felt heavy and icy to the hand, seemingly left by an immortal who practiced a body‑refining method, retaining a trace of immortal dao rhythm.

Moreover, there were three Immortal Slaughter Crystals of varying quality—two from mid‑Nascent Soul demon souls, one from a late‑Nascent Soul one, the latter containing killing qi and origin that were even more refined and vast.

"Though this place is dangerous, treasure lies everywhere." Wang Ping swallowed a Return Origin Pill, quietly regulated his breath, "No wonder those Void Refinement beings would erupt in conflict here."

Deep within this ancient battlefield, there likely lies buried the true great treasure left over from the great battle of that year.

After finishing his rest, Wang Ping was about to continue deeper when suddenly his gaze tightened, falling upon a relatively intact immortal bird skeleton not far away.

There, half-buried in the killing soil, it seemed not a naturally formed rock or bone, but… traces of artificial carving?

He approached cautiously, sweeping it with his divine sense. It was a broken black stone tablet, its material neither metal nor stone, and the characters etched on its surface… were not immortal script, nor the common language of the spirit realm, but a kind of complex structure with strange spiral patterns, an unfamiliar script!

At the edge of the tablet lingered some residual energy fluctuations not yet fully dissipated, discordant with the overall aura of the Qingming Tianyu, yet carrying a distinct sense of 'order' and 'foreignness'.

These are… recent traces! Wang Ping's heart jolted. The markings on the tablet were fresh, and the lingering energy fluctuations indicated it had existed no more than a few months. More importantly, this script and its energy attribute were absolutely not an ancient relic, nor did they resemble any spirit‑realm scripts he knew!

There are explorers from other worlds… and they've already penetrated this far? Wang Ping's mind flashed with that thought. Coupled with the distant fluctuation of the God‑Transformation level, a more startling conjecture surfaced.

Those who enter this Qingming Tianyu are likely not just him alone, nor merely scattered adventurers; there probably exists an organized, structured force from another world!

This discovery made Wang Ping's mood heavier, yet it also sparked a stronger urge to explore. He carefully made a rubbing of part of the tablet's script, preparing to study it later.

Afterward, he further restrained his aura, even employing part of the concealment function of the 'Five Elements Hidden Trace Disk' to shroud himself, like a true phantom, sneaking deeper into the ancient battlefield toward the energy fluctuations and the possible direction of other forces.

As he went deeper, the battlefield's environment grew more perilous. The killing qi thickened like blood mist, severely limiting visibility. The density of wandering immortal‑killing demon souls increased, and even small‑scale 'group' activities began to appear.

They seemed to be drawn by some stronger presence, or perhaps following the ancient battlefield's obsession, vaguely converging toward a certain direction.

Wang Ping had no choice but to change his route more frequently, avoiding places where demon souls gathered.

Once, he spotted from afar a collapsed immortal palace ruin where over twenty Nascent Soul‑stage demon souls wandered unconscious, the three leaders' aura actually reaching the Nascent Soul Great Perfection level, shattered laws swirling around them, killing qi surging heavenward.

Wang Ping had no doubt that if they discovered and surrounded him, even a God‑Transformation cultivator would have to expend considerable effort.

'I must pass through this area as quickly as possible,' Wang Ping thought to himself. Maintaining his domain and high vigilance for a long time was a significant drain on him.

Just as he tried to detour around a 'Shield Mountain' piled from countless broken shields, a sudden change occurred!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three beams of light, each of a different hue but equally swift and sharp, shot from three different directions, violently striking the relatively open bone‑strewn ground he had just stepped onto!

At the same time, the killing‑soil on the ground surged, and four black tendrils condensed from pure killing qi burst from the earth, wrapping toward his feet!

An ambush! Moreover, their coordination was seamless—obviously not something mindless demon souls could pull off!

Wang Ping remained calm in the crisis; his inner chaotic Nascent Soul trembled, and his ten‑zhang domain unfolded fully! Gray light surged, enveloping the three beams and the four killing‑qi tendrils completely.

Within the domain, the five elements went into disorder, gravity spiked, and the speed of the beams and tendrils instantly dropped severalfold, their trajectories becoming twisted and crooked.

Taking advantage of the opening, Wang Ping's figure flickered like a ghost, dodging all attacks by a hair's breadth and appearing atop a huge beast skull ten zhang away. His eyes flashed like lightning, instantly scanning the source of the assault.

He saw a human‑shaped black mist drifting from a forest of broken halberds on the left, surrounded by black vapor, its aura roughly late Nascent Soul—exactly a typical immortal‑killing demon soul.

But what made Wang Ping's pupils contract was that, behind a tilted stele on the right and at the edge of a ground fissure behind, the attackers revealed themselves— they were not demon souls!

They were two 'people'!

One was tall and thin, cloaked in a dark‑purple robe embroidered with twisted star patterns, his face obscured, holding a short staff twisted like a live snake, the purple gem at its tip flashing with an eerie light.

The purple beam just now came from him. His aura was strange and wavering, carrying strong shadow and star fluctuations, his cultivation roughly mid‑Nascent Soul.

The other was burly, clad in heavy dark‑gold armor of an ancient style, covering his whole body, even his face hidden behind a gold face‑guard adorned with horns.

He wielded a door‑sized dark‑gold greatsword, its blade covered in coarse runes; the blazing golden sword‑light just now clearly came from him. His aura was heavy, scorching, full of power, his cultivation also mid‑Nascent Soul.

The energy fluctuations on these two 'people' differed greatly from spirit‑realm cultivators and were also out of sync with the battlefield's killing qi, bearing a clear foreign trait. Their gazes at Wang Ping were filled with scrutiny, wariness, and a hint… of hunting‑like excitement?

'Foreigners? And not just one faction?' Wang Ping's thoughts raced. The purple‑robed caster and the gold‑armored warrior were obviously not on the same side, their positions mutually guarded, yet they had just cooperated seamlessly to attack him—was it a temporary alliance to clear intruders? Or…

'Roar!' Before Wang Ping could think further, the mid‑late Nascent Soul demon soul disturbed by his domain could no longer hold back, roaring as it lunged at him, its thick killing qi turning into countless ghostly faces that gnawed toward him.

The purple‑robed person and the gold‑armed warrior also moved at once! The purple‑robed person waved his short staff, and several purple star‑light chains shot out of the void, winding toward Wang Ping's space, seemingly to bind him.

The gold‑armed warrior strode forward, raising his greatsword, dark‑gold light gathering, a heavy pressure field pressing down, combined with the violent sword‑wave from his sword strike, his momentum astonishing!

A three‑way encirclement! The demon soul feared no death, while the two outland cultivators employed strange tactics and exquisite coordination!

Wang Ping instantly found himself in peril. Yet his eyes held no panic; instead, a fervent fighting spirit rose. After his secluded breakthrough, he needed such pressure to temper himself, and this was also an excellent opportunity to probe the methods of the outland cultivators!

'Good timing!' he shouted low, his chaotic domain suddenly contracting to five zhang while its condensation doubled. At the domain's core, his chaotic Nascent Soul's hands hovered in an embrace, his chest's star‑pivot whirring rapidly, drawing forth a thread of chaotic immortal essence.

'Chaotic thunder‑fire, all phenomena arise and perish!'

He thrust both hands forward; the chaotic qi within his domain surged violently, instantly forming dozens of head‑sized spheres, outwardly chaotic gray but inside interwoven thunder and fire, shooting out simultaneously in three directions! Each sphere contained the fury of lightning, the blaze of fire, and the annihilation of chaos, their trajectories erratic, as if alive.

The demon soul's killing‑qi ghost faces collided with the thunder‑fire spheres, instantly purified by the lightning and fire, annihilated by chaos, emitting a sizzling sound and quickly dissipating.

The purple‑robed person's star‑light chains tried to entangle the spheres, but were disturbed and twisted by the chaotic aura bursting from within, the chains' light dimming and breaking inch by inch. The gold‑armed warrior's sword‑wave struck two spheres, exploding with a deafening roar.

The sword‑wave was scattered, the spheres also vanished, but the leaking chaotic thunder‑fire followed the energy connections back, rebounding onto the greatsword and armor, leaving scorched marks.

With that one strike, all three attacks were shattered!

The purple‑robed person and the gold‑armed warrior clearly hadn't expected Wang Ping's counterattack to be so fierce and strange, their eyes showing surprise. That demon soul was also directly hit in the body by several thunder‑fire spheres, letting out a painful roar, its misty form visibly thinning.

Seizing the advantage, Wang Ping did not relent; his form flashed like lightning as he charged straight at the nearest gold‑armed warrior, wanting to test these outland cultivators' physical bodies and close‑combat ability.

The gold‑armed warrior bellowed, fearless, his greatsword carrying the force to split mountains and rocks as it swept horizontally; even before the blade arrived, the heavy pressure field already enveloped Wang Ping like a mire.

Wang Ping did not dodge or evade; he clenched his right fist, a deep chaotic gray glow covering his fist, vaguely flashing the phantom of heaven‑splitting earth‑opening—precisely the embryonic power of the 'Chaos Initial Opening Seal,' fused into his fist!

'Break!'

Fist and sword met!

There was no huge blast, only a deep, muffled roar to the extreme, as if space itself were being hammered. The dark‑gold sword‑wave and the chaotic gray glow violently collided and annihilated.

The gold‑armed warrior's whole body shuddered violently; his greatsword let out a groan unable to bear the weight, and he was blown back three steps by that punch, each step leaving deep footprints on the hard killing‑soil, the gaze beneath his face‑guard filled with disbelief.

Wang Ping also felt numbness in his fist, secretly admiring the opponent's strength and armor defense. But he did not stop, using the rebound to twist his form oddly and lunge at the purple‑robed person who was gathering his next spell.

The purple‑robed person reacted extremely fast; his figure suddenly blurred, as if trying to merge with the surrounding shadows. At the same time, his short staff burst with blinding purple light, and a phantom eye formed of pure shadow and star power appeared before Wang Ping, its pupil opening to fire a cold, dead‑gray beam!

'A fusion of shadow and star laws?' Wang Ping's heart tightened; this beam gave him a feeling of extreme danger, as if it could directly sever vitality. He dared not meet it head‑on; his domain power formed layers of twisted chaotic barriers before him, while he hastily retreated.

'Hiss!' The gray beam struck the chaotic barrier, acting like a strongly corrosive acid that quickly dissolved it. Yet this bought Wang Ping a moment. He pointed a finger, and a highly condensed 'Chaos Slaughter God Sword‑Wave' shot out ahead, aiming at that shadow‑star eye.

The sword‑wave and the phantom eye vanished simultaneously; the burst of energy turbulence forced the purple‑robed person to reveal his form, his cloak flying.

And just then, the heavily wounded late Nascent Soul demon soul, taking advantage of the lull in the three‑way fight, howled and lunged at…… the purple‑robed person! It seemed to regard this strange, chilly‑aura fellow as a greater threat, or perhaps some aura on him attracted it.

The purple‑robed person was caught off guard; in his haste he raised a purple star‑light shield. The demon soul's claws slammed onto the shield, killing qi and star light violently clashing, the shield shaking violently.

Seeing this, the golden-armored warrior flashed a hint of hesitation in his eyes; he did not rush forward to help, but instead looked warily at Wang Ping, then glanced at the demon soul, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Wang Ping took it all in, coldly smiling in his heart: "Indeed, they're not a monolith; they might even be hostile to each other, and just now they merely teamed up temporarily to clear out this unexpected intruder of mine."

He instantly changed tactics, no longer rushing a fierce attack; instead, his figure flickered as he withdrew, widening the distance, while fully circulating his domain, further assimilating his aura with the surrounding killing qi, making himself even more indistinct. He intended to be a spectator, to see what sparks would fly between the foreign cultivators and the native demon soul.

The purple-robed man obviously hadn't expected the demon soul to suddenly turn its spear, and with the golden-armored warrior standing by, he instantly fell into danger. He let out a fierce shout; the purple gem atop his short staff exploded, releasing a tremendous shadow-stellar force that blasted the demon soul back temporarily, but his own face turned pale, his aura weakened considerably—clearly he had paid a heavy price.

"Grum! Why aren't you acting?" the purple-robed man cried shrilly, speaking a language Wang Ping couldn't understand at all, but the anger and urgency in the mental fluctuations were unmistakable.

The golden-armored warrior called Grum let out a muffled laugh from beneath his visor, responding in the same language: "Shahran, even the mage of the Shadow Eye would beg for aid? This demon soul's core killing crystal is mine!" Having said that, he actually swung his massive sword, slashing at the demon soul that had just steadied itself; though the attack looked fierce, he actually held back, seeming more to press the demon soul while also guarding against the purple-robed man.

The scene instantly turned into a three-way melee: the demon soul frantically attacked the purple-robed Shahran, the golden-armored Grum sought opportunities to strike the demon soul while restraining Shahran, and Wang Ping observed from afar, hidden.

Wang Ping was glad for the leisure; while regulating his breath to recover, he carefully observed the two foreign cultivators' fighting styles, energy characteristics, and details of their coordination (or lack thereof). He noticed that their power systems were different.

Yet they both seemed to have some adaptability to the ancient battlefield's killing qi, or perhaps special protective measures. Their spells and combat techniques also differed greatly from the common paths of the Spirit Realm, focusing more on deep development of a single or fused law, being both mysterious and efficient.

"Cultivating civilizations from different worlds… this Qingming Heavenly Domain has indeed become a chessboard where all sides contend." Wang Ping thought to himself.

He had originally thought he was the sole "fortunate one," but now it seemed that this fragment of the immortal realm was like an open secret realm, drawing powerhouses from many worlds to come for treasure hunting, exploration, and even… contention!

Just as he was pondering, the battle situation suddenly changed!

Under the mutual consumption of Shahran and Grum's "tacit understanding," the late Nascent Soul demon soul finally reached the end of its strength. It let out a final unwilling roar, its body suddenly swelling, actually preparing to self-destruct its core killing crystal!

Shahran and Grum's faces changed drastically, and they swiftly retreated.

Wang Ping also immediately strengthened his defenses.

However, the expected violent explosion did not occur. When the demon soul's swollen body reached its limit, it suddenly seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand and violently collapsed inward! At the same time, the thick killing qi within a radius of a hundred zhang seemed to be summoned, frantically converging toward the collapse center.

A terrifying aura that made one's heart palpitate suddenly burst forth from that collapse point!

Within the killing qi vortex, a more substantial towering figure five zhang high gradually formed—clad in shattered armor, wielding a broken giant axe, with eyes blazing with blood-red soul fire, a massive demon soul phantom! Its aura clearly surpassed the Nascent Soul realm, reaching… the early stage of the Divine Transformation realm!

"Killing soul convergence! A general‑level demon soul has been born!" Shahran exclaimed in horror, his voice trembling with fear.

Grum also gripped his great sword tightly, his breathing growing ragged beneath his visor.

Wang Ping's heart also sank. An immortal killing demon soul of the Divine Transformation stage, even if just entered that realm, was absolutely beyond his current ability to oppose head‑on. Moreover, the newly born general‑level demon soul, its burning blood‑colored soul fire seemed… to turn slightly toward his direction!

He had been targeted!

It seemed that wanting to remain a mere spectator was no longer possible.

Wang Ping drew a deep breath; the light of his chaotic Nascent Infant blazed forth, the star‑pivot at his chest spinning faster than ever before, that wisp of chaotic immortal essence prototype fully aroused. He knew the true life‑and‑death trial had arrived.