Chapter 340

That speck of chaos-colored spark, tiny yet containing the world-opening power of order, drifted down slowly.

That black ray, condensed from the ultimate wrath and destructive will of the Origin of Disorder after its foundation was touched, swift as lightning, pointed directly at the spark and Wang Ping.

Before the two forces touched, the clash of their auras made the space of the Core Main Hall groan under strain, and fine black spatial cracks spread like a spiderweb across the ceiling and walls.

On the nine array positions below, the people were already spent arrows, feeling as if an invisible mountain pressed down on them, making breathing extremely difficult; the light pillars transmitting spiritual power shook violently, nearly severed.

Wang Ping was drenched in blood, his consciousness struggling between agony and the edge of chaos. He could clearly "see" the trajectory of that death ray, and feel the terrifying power within it, enough to utterly erase him together with his Chaos Nascent Soul.

But he could not retreat, nor dodge! The ritual had reached its final moment; the Chaos Source Fire was within reach. He was the array's nexus, the bridge, the only one who could guide this spark of hope!

Seal!!! In his sea of consciousness, the Zhen Character Divine Sigil, already covered in cracks and dim light, blazed to life as Wang Ping squeezed out his last mental energy to drive it.

This was not real fire, but the source of the divine sigil, the ultimate burning of his unyielding will!

A weak yet supremely determined sealing intent spread through his body, not aimed at that ray, but to steady himself, steady his link to the array hub, and steady the last thread guiding the summoning of the Chaos Source Fire.

At the same time, he mobilized all his remaining chaos spiritual power, risking meridian rupture, to draw forth the cool breath within the Jianmu Seed that Jiuer's vitality had awakened.

Before him he laid a last barrier, thin as near-transparency yet containing the five elements' birth and death and vigorous vitality—this was not for defense, but to provide a sliver of buffer and guidance at the moment of contacting the Chaos Source Fire.

All this happened in an instant.

The black ray arrived first!

Hiss—

There was no earth-shattering boom, only a grating sound like cold water dripping into hot oil.

The five-element vitality barrier Wang Ping had set up couldn't block even an instant, vanishing silently like a soap bubble in sunlight. The ray's residual force undiminished, it thrust straight at Wang Ping's brow.

At the critical moment, that slowly drifting Chaos Source Fire finally fell down.

It did not directly collide with the black ray; instead, as if possessing some sentience, it flickered slightly, happening to block in front of Wang Ping's brow, right on the ray's ultimate target's necessary path!

The faint chaos-colored light and the all-consuming blackness met head-on!

Time, as if infinitely stretched and frozen at this moment.

The anticipated violent explosion did not occur. That speck of weak Chaos Source Fire, upon contacting the black ray, suddenly expanded!

It was not a physical expansion, but the highest Dao rhythm of a trace of "order," "purification," "remolding" within it, aroused by the extreme "disorder" and "destruction," like a spark falling into an oil sea!

The chaos-colored light burst forth instantly, not blinding but carrying a vast, silent nourishing power, spreading from the point of contact.

That black ray, like ice meeting scorching sun, had its tip rapidly melt and disintegrate, being "purified" and "ordered" by the chaos light.

But the "disorder" power contained in the ray was too vast and refined; the Chaos Source Fire was merely a weak thread, making the purification process difficult and slow, as the two fell into the most perilous, essential Dao rhythm wear and opposition!

The overflowing energy turbulence, partially purified and not, like an uncontrolled blade storm, wildly sprayed in all directions!

Wang Ping bore the brunt!

Although most of the confrontation occurred between the source fire and the ray, even just the overflow ripple struck his already riddled body.

It also made him feel like being repeatedly hammered by a giant mallet, his body instantly bursting open dozens of deep wounds down to the bone, the whole person flung backward like a broken rag doll, heavily smashing against the edge of the array hub, his breath plummeting into near-death unconsciousness.

Only the last faint link between him and the array hub, and his right hand instinctively gripping, maintaining half of the summoning seal, proved he had not completely severed his vitality.

The overflowing energy storm likewise struck the nine array positions!

"Not good!" Cangxuan's eyes nearly burst, he exerted his last strength, turning the sword-intent light pillar before him into a broken sword shield before him, while pulling a refugee warrior who could barely hold on behind him.

Yuliuli's immortal soul light was already exhausted; she could only weakly shake the Immortal Sound Bell, emitting a final mournful guard wave.

Yunhao roared, using his body to shield Qingyu ahead, his Broken Ruin Halberd completely shattered, the bluish-gray light curtain collapsing.

Boom boom boom!

The energy storm swept over. The already tottering people, like leaves in a gale, were violently flung up, striking the hall walls or stone pillar bases, blood spurting, instantly losing combat ability, collapsing heavily wounded, life or death unknown. The light of the nine auxiliary array positions almost simultaneously extinguished. Only a few shattered Inherited Immortal Artifacts still faintly glowed, sustaining their masters' last vital pulse.

The entire Core Main Hall, aside from the altar where the chaos light and black ray silently yet fiercely clashed, and the comatose Wang Ping below with the mortally wounded crowd, held only deathly silence and the pervasive stench of blood and burnt odor.

Youying's silhouette merged into the deepest shadow at the storm's onset, evading the fiercest frontal impact, but when he reappeared, the corner shadow where he usually hid had been completely flattened by chaotic energy.

He half-knelt on the ground, his black robe torn, revealing pale skin beneath and deep bone-deep burns, his breath equally disordered and weak.

His icy gaze swept the field, seeing Wang Ping unconscious, the crowd collapsed, the ritual on the verge of breaking, the Chaos Source Fire and black ray deadlocked, while the Origin of Disorder on the altar, though slightly weakened after unleashing that terrifying strike, still slowly writhed, brewing a counterstrike…

The situation had deteriorated to the extreme. The ritual was not fully successful; though the Chaos Source Fire had been summoned, no one guided its true integration into the array or its function, instead it fell into a dangerous consumption deadlock with the Origin of Disorder's power.

Wang Ping and company lost all combat ability; the array halted, the seal's light net lost active support, running only on its own base, its glow visibly dimming.

"Must……someone continue……" Youying struggled to rise, looking at the unconscious Wang Ping at the array hub, then at the cluster of Chaos Source Fire deadlocked with the black ray.

He was not a practitioner of the Chaos Dao, could not replace Wang Ping. But perhaps…… a flash of resolve crossed his eyes, his form gradually fading, preparing to try with his extremely condensed "Shadow" principle.

To "fix" the Chaos Source Fire that began to waver and drift apart due to Wang Ping's unconsciousness, even if only temporary, even if it invited direct backlash from the Disorder power……

However, just as Youying was about to act——

Boom——

A sound far duller than the hall's internal clash yet more earth-shaking, came from outside the Chaos Palace, from the broader realm of the Immortal Palace!

Immediately followed, continuous explosion cries, battle shouts, and the sharp whine of energy collisions!

The entire Chaos Palace, no, the entire core region of the Zhenxu Immortal Palace, shook violently! Rubble falling from the ceiling became dense, ground cracks widened, even the altar trembled slightly.

External foe! A large-scale external enemy was storming the Immortal Palace! The attack's source unmistakably pointed to the Chaos Palace entrance and other weak spots of the Immortal Palace!

Youying's stance stalled, his cold eyes finally flashing a hint of gravity. Internal trouble not quelled, external foe already here! And hearing this commotion, the assault was extremely fierce!

Almost simultaneously, the ancient transmission token carried by him and Yunhao and the refugee warriors alike emitted a urgent, sharp buzzing, flashing crimson light signifying the highest-level emergency distress call—this was the final alarm sent out by the perimeter-watching refugee warriors!

"Minggu Laogui……and Yunshang's remnants……they haven't left! They've even allied with outsiders!"

Youying instantly understood. The gravely wounded escaped elder of the Underworld Clan, Minggu Laogui, and possibly surviving part of the fallen refugee traitors, had not fled but instead seized this chance to gather strength and launch a strong attack from outside!

Their goal is clear — taking advantage of the moment when Wang Ping and others are deep inside the Chaos Palace, the weakest point of the seal, inside and outside cooperate, to completely destroy the ritual, even break the seal!

"Heh… really… picked a good time." A wisp of icy arc slipped from the corner of Youying's mouth, unclear whether he was mocking the enemy or mocking the fate of this desperate situation.

He glanced at Wang Ping, whose life or death was unknown at the formation hub, then at Cangxuan, Yuliuli, Yunhao and others who had collapsed unable to rise, and finally his gaze fell upon the stalemated Chaos Source Fire.

The internal ritual was interrupted, everyone severely wounded, no one maintaining the formation. External powerful enemies press in; once breached, everyone will have no place to die. And the "Chaotic Origin" on the altar could at any moment break free of the weakened, depleted seal…

A desperate situation within desperation.

But You Ying did not hesitate. He was originally an assassin who walked the edge of life and death, making the coldest yet most effective choice in desperate situations—that was his instinct.

He flashed, moving with extreme speed yet his pace still appeared staggering, rushed to Wang Ping's side, quickly checked his condition—his vitality was faint like a candle in the wind, yet strangely he clung to a breath, as if the life force of the Fusang seed within him and the resilience of the Chaos Nascent Soul were barely sustaining him.

You Ying without hesitation shoved his last life-saving pill into Wang Ping's mouth, using a surge of yin-soft shadow power to help it dissolve and protect his meridians. Then, following the same method, he fed the last of his healing pills on his person to the core figures Cang Xuan, Yu Liuli, and Yun Hao, and with a special technique temporarily sealed their most fatal wounds, clinging to their lives.

After doing these, his own consumption grew greater, his face turned deathly pale. Yet he did not stop, swiftly darting to the main hall entrance, where there was a simple array node Yun Hao had set up earlier for contacting the outer villagers.

He activated the node, sending out an extremely brief, icy message toward several key defense nodes on the outer Immortal Palace and the positions of any villager squads still resisting: "Chaos Palace emergency, ceremony interrupted, all leaders severely wounded."

Enemy forces launch a strong assault, aiming to break the seal. All who can fight, gather at the Chaos Palace entrance and the two outer passes of Sinking Abyss Gully and Broken Dragon Stone, hold fast! Buy time for the interior! —You Ying.

He could not detail the internal situation, only giving the clearest order: gather the remaining forces, build a defense line outside, hold fast, buy time! For the interior of Chaos Palace, for any possible turnaround that Wang Ping and the others might have, seize every extra second!

After sending the message, You Ying lingered not a moment, turned, and his gaze swept like an ice blade over the Chaos Palace's interior's winding, complex passages.

He knew that since the Ming Gu gang dared to launch a strong assault, they must understand the Immortal Palace's structure, possibly even having a traitor show them the way. The pressure on the front defensive line at the Chaos Palace entrance would be greatest, but one could not rule out a small elite force sneaking in through secret passages or other weak points to rush straight to the central hall and destroy it.

"Guards... only I remain." You Ying murmured softly, his figure slowly sinking into the shadow reforming beneath his feet, breath and killing intent fully retracted, like the most patient viper lying in wait in the shadow inside the central hall entrance, merging with the surroundings. He must guard this last door, clearing any "rats" trying to break in.

At the same time, he extended an extremely faint thread of perception, linking the stalemated Chaos Source Fire and the black rays inside the hall, as well as the unconscious Wang Ping.

He was waiting, also gambling: betting that Wang Ping could wake up under the effect of that pill and his own foundation, betting that the Chaos Source Fire could find a turnaround, betting that the remnant villagers outside could hold out a little longer……

Outside the Immortal Palace, Sinking Abyss Gully.

This is a massive chasm, bottomless and filled with chaotic spatial rifts, once an important barrier of the Immortal Palace's outskirts, but now, due to time's erosion and the impact of the previous Reverse Yuan Hall uprising, some sections have weakened barriers.

Now, on the ancient defense platform at the chasm's edge, the remaining twenty-something villagers warriors, under the leadership of a man named Yan Lie, a mid-Nascent Soul commander, are relying on the residual array fortifications to desperately resist the fierce assault from the opposite bank of the chasm.

The attackers are mixed in composition: leading are three black-robed men whose auras are grim and whose bodies are wrapped in thick, sticky Netherworld death qi—exactly the Netherworld Clan elites who fled with Elder Ming Gu earlier, one of whom even has late-Nascent Soul cultivation! Beside them follow seven or eight cultivators with gleaming eyes and mismatched clothing; judging by their aura and techniques, they are clearly several outworld prodigies who entered the Azure Void Heavenly Realm for exploration and either stayed out of greed or were seduced! Two of them have exceptionally strong auras: one is a descendant of the Golden Winged Yao Peng from a great demon realm, with dark-golden wings sprouting from his back and wielding a spear burning with demonic flame, his cultivation at the peak of late Nascent Soul; the other is shrouded in a twisting force field, a prodigy from a great world cultivating the Primordial Magnetic Divine Ability, his eyes greedy and ferocious.

What chilled the villagers' warriors even more was that among the attackers were four or five traitors dressed in ruined villager garb! They knew part of the Immortal Palace's outer array layout and weak points, and it was they who led the enemy to bypass several obvious defensive lines, suddenly appearing at this vital spot of the Sinking Abyss Gully!

"Commander Yan Lie! The third array node on the east side has been destroyed by traitors! The enemy is charging up!" a villager warrior covered in blood shouted hoarsely.

"Hold fast! Use your flesh and blood to hold for me! Behind us is Chaos Palace, is the seal!" Yan Lie's eyes turned blood-red as he swung a heavy stone axe, cleaving in half an outside-world Golden Core cultivator who had charged onto the platform, his mind clouded by greed—but immediately he was struck by a flame spear thrust from the Golden Winged Yao Peng prodigy, vomiting blood and retreating, his chest scorched black.

"Ming Wan not effective! The Immortal Palace's treasures belong to the virtuous! That Chaos Palace surely holds heaven-defying opportunities! You rotten watchdogs, what right do you have to block us?" the Golden Winged Yao Peng prodigy laughed maniacally, a shake of his wings sending countless burning feathers like a rainstorm toward the defenses, triggering a chain of explosions.

The outworld prodigy cultivating the Primordial Magnetic Divine Ability then pressed his hands forward in the void; the powerful Primordial Magnetic field twisted, making the villagers' metal weapons heavy and unwieldy, interfering with the array sigils, causing them to flicker erratically.

The three Netherworld Clan cultivators were even more sinister, constantly releasing filthy Netherworld ghost mist that corroded the array's light curtains and summoned fearless vengeful spirits to assault the line.

The traitors hid behind, using villager secret arts to interfere with the platform's defensive array core, or pointing out weak spots in the defenders' line.

The defenders were outnumbered, the array constantly eroded and destroyed, personnel fell one after another. The defense line hung by a thread.

"Commander Yan Lie! You Ying has sent an urgent message: the Chaos Palace interior is in crisis, ordering us to hold this place and Broken Dragon Stone, buying time for the interior!" a messenger warrior stumbled over, his voice filled with despair and resolve.

Yan Lie's body shuddered at the words, he gazed toward Chaos Palace, a flash of sorrow crossing his eyes before turning into deeper madness: "Did you hear that?! Brothers! Chaos Palace needs us! The seal needs us! Even if we spill our last drop of blood, we will pin the enemy here! For our ancestors! For all beings! Kill!"

"Kill!!!" The remaining villagers warriors let out a mournful roar, completely abandoning defense, launching a suicidal charge, using their bodies and lives to fill the gaps in the line, delaying the enemy's advance.

Broken Dragon Stone, another crucial gateway to the Chaos Palace region.

The fighting here was equally fierce. The villagers defending this place were few, only over ten, led by a woman named Feng Qi, skilled in wind techniques. They faced slightly fewer enemies, but just as elite, led by two mid-Nascent Soul Netherworld Clan cultivators and three seduced outworld prodigies (one skilled in poison arts, one adept at illusion), likewise guided by traitors.

Broken Dragon Stone is a naturally formed massive stone gate, its sides are extremely hard Chaos rock walls, easy to defend, hard to attack. Feng Qi and her companions relied on terrain and residual seals to barely hold on. But when You Ying's urgent message arrived and they learned the situation inside Chaos Palace, Feng Qi knew that mere defensive delay would not last long.

"Sisters," Feng Qi wiped the blood from her corner of her mouth, looking at the seven or eight similarly wounded female warriors beside her, her eyes flashing with tenderness and resolve, "Let us activate the 'Windfall Covenant'."

Upon hearing this, the other female warriors were startled, but their eyes instantly became calm and firm. They silently nodded, gathered around Feng Qi, began chanting an ancient, sorrowful song, and simultaneously slit their wrists, using their essence blood to trace an intricate, seemingly countless wind-blade-shaped blood covenant rune on the open ground before Broken Dragon Stone.

"With our wind bloodlines, we summon the ancestral spirits, establishing the Fallen Covenant… becoming wind, eternally sealing this gate!" Feng Qi's voice was distant and ethereal; as the final incantation fell, the blood covenant rune burst forth with piercing azure light!

Boom! A fierce wind rose, not an ordinary heavenly wind, but a "soul wind" containing the villagers' bloodline origin and solemn will! Feng Qi and all the female warriors' figures gradually blurred and dissipated in the azure gale, their essence blood, souls, and lifelong cultivation completely merging into this soul wind!

The soul wind howled, entwining around Broken Dragon Stone and its surrounding cliffs, forming an incredibly solid layer of countless tiny wind blades eternally rotating and cutting—a cyan wind wall! This wind wall is not only extremely hard, but also carries powerful soul impact and purifying force, exerting extra restraint against Netherworld death qi and evil arts.

The two outworld prodigies and one Netherworld Clan cultivator at the forefront, caught off guard, slammed into the wind wall and were instantly sliced into bloody pulp by countless wind blades, their souls likewise torn as if by thousands of cuts, emitting shrill screams as they fell back, severely wounded.

"These mad women! They actually used a mutual annihilation forbidden art!" The remaining enemies were shocked and angry, for a moment actually blocked by this suddenly appearing, life-costing wind wall, their advance stalled.

Chaos Palace entrance, frontline battlefield.

Here is where the pressure is greatest. Elder Ming Gu himself appears!

Although his complexion is ashen and his aura much weaker than before, clearly still wounded from heavy injuries, the foundation of a half-step Divine Transformation remains, and he holds that bone scepter now showing a new crack.

Each swing draws down torrents of Netherworld death qi, forming huge ghost claws or corrosive floods, frenziedly striking the Chaos Palace gate that was originally heavy but now, due to internal turmoil, its light dimmed.

Before the gate, fewer than thirty villagers who had retreated from various places or rushed to reinforce after receiving You Ying's message, under the leadership of an one-armed, blood-soaked old chief named Tie Yue, relied on the gate's residual seal light to form a remnant array, desperately resisting.

But they faced Elder Ming Gu's main force, plus over ten outworld prodigies lured by his lies of "Immortal Palace core treasures" and "Chaos Sovereign inheritance"—strong and greedy (mostly early to mid-Nascent Soul)—as well as more than ten Netherworld Clan elites and even more traitors.

The battle was practically a one-sided slaughter. Villagers kept falling, the remnant array wavered on the brink of collapse. The seal light on the Chaos Palace gate, under Elder Ming Gu's reckless assault, flickered like a candle in the wind, the gate itself emitting a strained "creak" as fine cracks began to appear.

"Hah! Those inside are probably already dead! This gate is about to break! Treasure! Inheritance! All ours!" an outworld prodigy shouted, eyes red with fury.

Elder Ming Gu's eyes flashed with hatred and glee: "Little Wang Ping, you ruined my plans; today I will bury you all here! Once the seal breaks and the primordial abyss descends, I can seize a trace of origin and return to the Great Dao!" He seemed already to see Chaos Palace breached, inside defenseless, the ceremony utterly destroyed, the seal collapsed.

"Chief Tie Yue! Can't hold on! The gate… the gate is about to split!" a villager warrior cried out in despair.

Old Chief Tie Yue looked at his few, wounded subordinates, then at the gate whose light was rapidly dimming and cracks spreading, and let out a mournful howl to the heavens: "Ancestors! Our descendants are unworthy, we failed to guard the gate! May my remaining body become the last brick!"

He fiercely thrust his broken sword into the ground, clasped his hands into an ancient, complex self-detonation seal, his Nascent Soul suddenly blazing with blinding light—he would self-detonate his Nascent Soul, in the most brutal way, to buy this gate, the Chaos Palace behind it, a final instant!

"Old fool seeking death!" Elder Ming Gu sensed something amiss, pointed his bone scepter, and a condensed ray of Netherworld death light shot straight at Tie Yue.

At this critical moment—

Hum!

Inside Chaos Palace, in the central hall, an anomaly suddenly arose!

Not Wang Ping awakening, nor the Chaos Source Fire prevailing.