Chapter 537: Heavenly Palace Realm Elder, Dead!

"Must report to the sect immediately!"

The leader of the warriors was seized by horror, completely abandoning any thought of profiting from others' strife, now only seeking to survive and escape.

……

"Chi Lian! What are you waiting for? Use the forbidden technique! Otherwise, today we both die here!"

Xue Yan, hair wild and disheveled, looked insane—he realized that his years of painstaking cultivation of Blood Refining Devil Art was utterly restrained by the Supreme Yang Sword Art and the unpredictable Water-Fire Hell, his full power reduced to less than half.

Chi Lian was even more agonized—his pride, the Blood Devil Body and its tyrannical power, met its natural enemy in the Pure Yang Heavenly Fire; every clash drastically increased his true energy loss and worsened his injuries, while the severed wrist sent piercing pain and continuous burning from the heavenly fire.

"Roar!"

Chi Lian was utterly enraged, his ferocity completely overriding reason; he slammed his chest violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of dark-gold essence blood brimming with vast life essence and demonic origin.

The essence blood splashed onto his severed wrist, instantly igniting roaring blood flames that temporarily sealed the heavenly fire's erosion; at the same time, his body swelled again, his skin covered in dense, flickering dark-gold markings that writhed like living things, his aura skyrocketing as he forcibly broke through the early-stage Heavenly Palace Realm boundary, briefly reaching mid-stage Heavenly Palace Realm!

Though unstable and filled with self-destructive madness, his strength, speed, and presence had undergone a qualitative transformation.

His remaining left arm's claw swelled to its limit, five fingers splayed wide, palm condensing a black sphere the size of a fist.

"Xue Yan! Help me!"

Chi Lian screamed hoarsely.

Xue Yan's eyes flashed a flicker of pain and resolve; he too spat out several mouthfuls of heart essence blood, drenching the blood-colored phantom above his head, already on the verge of dissolving.

The phantom exploded violently, turning into a torrent of viscous blood rain that merged into the crumbling "Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Hell" formation below.

The entire formation groaned under unbearable strain, all blood light collapsing inward furiously and condensing, finally forming before Xue Yan a blood dagger only a foot long, entirely dark red, translucent as jade.

As soon as this dagger appeared, even surrounding light seemed swallowed; space froze—it was Xue Yan's final, annihilating strike, forged at the cost of depleting the formation's foundation and most of his essence blood.

Both burned their essence blood to unleash a forbidden killing technique that drained lifespan and foundation; its power was terrifying, truly touching the edge of mid-stage Heavenly Palace Realm.

Together, their power multiplied.

Facing this joint attack capable of threatening mid-stage Heavenly Palace Realm, Chen Mu's demeanor was grave.

In his heart, he silently recited, and the essence of the Two Yin-Yang Sword Qi naturally flowed.

Just as Chi Lian and Xue Yan fully activated their forbidden killing techniques, their minds intensely focused yet momentarily destabilized by the forbidden arts—

Chen Mu's left hand still held the Dragon-Subduing Sword in a suppressing posture against Chi Lian, his right hand still enveloped Xue Yan in the Water-Fire Hell, appearing to fully engage their frontal assault.

Yet, in the empty void, unnoticed, two infinitesimal sword qi, as if non-existent, quietly formed.

Yin and yang energies, guided by Chen Mu's powerful spirit, instantly merged in midair, becoming two Yin-Yang Sword Qi.

These two Yin-Yang Sword Qi did not strike the two men directly; instead, they slipped soundlessly through the fleeting gaps in their mind-body connection, caused by the forbidden arts, and entered their foreheads.

Chi Lian and Xue Yan, fully channeling their killing techniques, minds surging, true energy boiling—suddenly, a piercing pain, cold and searing, intertwined at the deepest core of their souls, exploded violently within their spirit seas.

"Ugh—"

Both bodies convulsed simultaneously, their eyes' madness, ferocity, and resolve instantly frozen, replaced by boundless shock, confusion, and bone-deep terror.

The half-formed killing technique, deprived of precise control, became wild and unstable, energy turning against them.

"No… impossible…"

Chi Lian emitted a guttural, incoherent sound, his crimson eyes rapidly dimming and scattering.

"You… you…"

Xue Yan struggled to speak, his bloodlight extinguished, leaving only regret and bewilderment.

Boom! Boom!

Two muffled explosions—not from outside, but from within their bodies.

The uncontrolled, wild forbidden energy, now reversed, combined with the Yin-Yang Sword Qi's annihilation of their souls—Chi Lian and Xue Yan's bodies, like empty skins stripped of all support, swelled violently, then exploded into countless fragments.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

Card obtained, checked swiftly.

One Spirit-Condensing Card, one Aptitude Card.

Excellent!

……

In the heavens and earth, the violent energy currents, deprived of their source, began slowly calming.

The blood-red barrier of the "Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Hell," now without its master, let out a mournful cry and shattered violently, dissolving into countless blood-colored specks.

Only the collapsed cliffs, the ruined earth, the lingering chaotic qi, and faint scents of charring proved the reality of the battle just fought.

Chen Mu slowly sheathed his sword, his face slightly pale—continuous high-intensity combat and the use of the soul-draining "Two Yin-Yang Sword Qi" had taken a heavy toll.

Yet his gaze remained sharp as a blade, sweeping across the distant cliff.

There, it was utterly empty.

The hidden figures, terrified beyond reason after Chi Lian and Xue Yan's bodies exploded grotesquely, had fled into shadows at their fastest speed, vanished without a trace.

He turned, facing behind.

Zhu Qing and Ning Zhi Xi remained frozen in place, eyes vacant, as if turned to stone statues.

They had witnessed the entire battle, seen Chen Mu directly confront two Heavenly Palace Realm experts—but how had Chi Lian and Xue Yan died?

They saw only their bodies suddenly stiffen, their eyes' light extinguish, then explode grotesquely.

No earth-shattering clash, no dazzling final strikes—only a chilling, soul-deep annihilation.

This supernatural erasure, more than brute strength, filled them with bone-chilling fear and reverence.

"This place is no longer safe. Let's go." Chen Mu exhaled, speaking calmly.

The two women shuddered violently, as if doused in ice water, snapping out of shock and terror.

Their gaze at Chen Mu had become too complex to describe—reverence, fear, relief, confusion intertwined, finally resolving into a deep bow, then silently following.

……

Leaving Soul-Dropping Gorge, Chen Mu and the other two did not pause, pressing westward day and night.

Perhaps Chen Mu's sudden instantaneous slaying of the two Heavenly Palace elders had terrified the hidden watchers, or perhaps those factions needed to reassess Chen Mu's strength and threat level—on the road ahead, an unusual calm prevailed.

Occasionally, they sensed distant probing energies, but these would swiftly retreat upon sensing Chen Mu's alertness, and no similar fierce ambushes like those in Soul-Dropping Gorge occurred again.

A month later, Chen Mu and the other two crossed Xiangnan Road and entered the territory of Western Heaven Road…