Chapter 247: Battle Between Heaven and Man

At this moment, within the starlight vortex, the stone stele had already faded to the point where only a phantom remained; at most, after another half a cup of tea's time, it would likely vanish completely.

"You have been suppressed at the bottom of the bottle for so long that you should know what kind of situation I am facing right now. This is Minghuang, and I need to return to the Mortal World. If you can help me get back, I will agree to your request!" Xu Chen responded after pondering for a few breaths.

"I cannot fulfill this request of yours!" The Mysterious Water Nether Lotus unexpectedly rejected his proposal point-blank.

Xu Chen was not disappointed; on the contrary, he was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

If the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus had agreed immediately, he would definitely have given up on further communication; this answer at least indicated that the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus did not intend to lie to him.

"Since you are a powerhouse from the Underworld and are stranded in the Mortal World, why can't you send me back?" Xu Chen asked tentatively.

"Because I am already dead. If I were still a Demon Lord, sending you back would be as easy as turning over my hand, but now I only have this remnant soul left waiting for resurrection. To recover my strength will take at least several thousand years. However, I do know a path that leads to the Mortal World. Although it is incomparably dangerous, it is your only chance. If you agree to my request, I will not only help you subdue this divine stele, but also take you to that place. As for whether you can escape back, it all depends on your luck..."

Speaking up to this point, the woman's cold, gloomy voice paused for a moment, then continued: "Actually, with this magical treasure on your person, the chances of passing through are quite high!"

Xu Chen was silent for a moment and said: "I am very hesitant about whether I should trust you; after all, you are a great danger to me."

"Hmph, are you not in danger right now? To tell you the truth, I also do not want to be dragged into this place by you and lose my life completely. Do you know what this place is?" the woman cold-snorted.

"What is this place?" Xu Chen asked.

"This is a rift in heaven and earth torn open by a great battle between Saint-realm powerhouses, which directly damaged the foundation of the world. This Heaven-Suppressing Divine Stele appeared here precisely to suppress this rift from expanding further. Therefore, the longer you stay here, the more the Heaven-Suppressing Divine Stele will draw in chaotic energy. If you fall into the chaos, neither of us will survive. You don't need to doubt my words; I, a dignified Demon Lord, would not lie to a little worm like you. Now the choice is yours, decide for yourself; time is running out!" The woman's cold voice vanished.

Xu Chen frantically circulated the Great Void Demon Refining Art while vigorously rubbing his chin.

It was a struggle!

This multiple-choice question was too difficult, unprecedentedly difficult.

It could be said to be a dilemma of advancing or retreating, a dilemma of life or death.

Regardless of any choice, it was possible to bury his life here.

However, after a moment, he made up his mind and gritted his teeth: "How do I let you out?"

The Mysterious Water Nether Lotus was silent for more than ten breaths this time before saying: "Are you not afraid that I will kill you once I get out?"

Xu Chen secretly clenched his fists, struggled internally for another moment, and said: "Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are in the hands of heaven. In cultivating the Dao, how can everything go as one wishes? Now that I have fallen into Minghuang, whether I can escape alive is still a question. If I can fight for it, why shouldn't I try? At worst, it's just death. Moreover, ever since I took you in, you have been of great help to me; otherwise, I would have died several times already. If you help me once more this time, letting you go can be considered a repayment. After all, you and I have no deep hatred, and this situation is not what either of us wanted; it is just a matter of circumstance."

"You really think so?" The woman's cold voice carried a hint of surprise.

"Absolutely true. I cannot return evil with kindness, but I certainly cannot return kindness with evil. This can also be considered a mutually beneficial matter, and furthermore, I have no other choice right now!" Xu Chen replied.

"If you had a choice, would you not agree?"

"……Yes!"

"Very good, you are very honest, much more honest than those human races from before. You chose to trust me, so I will not kill you. Now we can begin!"

"How do we begin? How do I let you out?" Xu Chen asked hurriedly.

"You only need to stop circulating your refining technique. No matter what happens in a moment, do not interfere. Right now, this bottle is going all out to confront the divine stele; in fact, it is already firmly stuck by the chaotic energy of the divine stele and cannot easily break free. This is my best chance to escape."

Xu Chen couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He released his Divine Sense to observe the situation of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle and the divine stele outside the Clam Shell Phantom, and discovered that it was indeed similar to what the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus had said. Although the starlight vortex released by the Blue Light Treasure Bottle had enveloped the divine stele phantom, it could not stop the stele from continuing to vanish. At the same time, the starlight vortex seemed unable to break free from the divine stele's gravitational pull, and a large amount of starlight seemed to be being dragged by the stone stele into the depths of the Void Fault.

The starlight vortex and the divine stele looked as if they were merging together and fading away.

Instantly, cold sweat rolled down Xu Chen's forehead, and he hurriedly stopped the Great Void Demon Refining Art.

"Roar~"

At the bottom of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, a roar like that of a wild beast suddenly sounded. Countless black vines were seen rolling and turning across the sky, crazily beginning to assault the blue nebula suppressing them from above like a monster.

"Boom~ boom~ boom~"

Under the attack of the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus, the entire Blue Light Treasure Bottle began to tremble, and clusters of blue starlight continuously splashed in all directions.

And amidst this violent shaking, the starlight vortex wrapping the divine stele also began to shatter in large swaths.

The speed at which the divine stele faded and vanished became even faster. In just a few breaths, only a faint afterimage remained, almost completely disappearing into the fault void.

And under the dragging of the divine stele, a large amount of starlight from the shattering starlight vortex also began to dissipate like an illusory blue firework.

Xu Chen knew that once this starlight dissipated, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle would certainly suffer tremendous damage.

And he was not yet sure if this damage could be stopped or repaired.

If it were permanent damage, then this time it would be a complete loss.

If it could not be stopped, the consequences would be even more serious; perhaps the Blue Light Treasure Bottle might be dragged into the fault void by this divine stele and then completely destroyed and annihilated by the power of chaos.

Although the level of cultivation in the Mortal World is not high and the understanding of heaven and earth is very shallow, it is still clear that chaos is the energy that nurtures all things in heaven and earth and is the foundation of the existence of heaven and earth. Once contaminated by chaos, it is almost a dead end; even a True Immortal cannot escape.

Seeming to sense that the divine stele was about to vanish, or perhaps because it had been stuck by the divine stele and could not break free, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle could neither leave the divine stele behind nor stop the starlight vortex, so it actually attempted to break away from Xu Chen and began to fall bit by bit into the pitch-black fault void.

Xu Chen was extremely anxious, but he was powerless to do anything.

And at this moment, the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus was still roaring and attacking at the bottom of the bottle, and the blue nebula was constantly exploding in clusters, but it was unable to break through the seal.

"Are you actually capable or not? The bottle is about to be dragged into the void!" Xu Chen couldn't help but roar with his Divine Sense.

"What are you roaring about? If you weren't refining and devouring my power every day, how could I be so weak..."

The mood of the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus seemed even more irritable than Xu Chen's.

However, halfway through, she still slightly lowered her voice and said: "Don't be anxious, it's almost time. We will definitely be able to escape; give me just a little more time..."

Xu Chen struggled and hesitated internally.

At this moment, he had already begun to feel a tearing pain in his Soul; this was a sign that the Blue Light Treasure Bottle was beginning to detach from his Soul.

All along, the reason his Soul was incomparably stable and powerful was because it was fused with the Blue Light Treasure Bottle.

If this fusion were completely separated, he even worried that his Soul would be completely torn apart, eventually turning into an idiot or dying.

Therefore, if he were to restart the Great Void Demon Refining Art now to refine the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus and continuously strengthen his Soul, he might be able to drag the Blue Light Treasure Bottle to continue holding on.

Whether he could subdue this divine stele was no longer important.

What Xu Chen was considering right now was how to save his life first.

But this method was actually just drinking poison to quench thirst; there was no hope to be seen at all.

Therefore, Xu Chen's heart was in a state of internal conflict, and in the end, he gritted his teeth and suppressed this thought.

Although the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus could not be trusted too much.

But if one spoke of chances, it was indeed a greater certainty.

Seemingly sensing the struggle and unease in Xu Chen's heart, the impact force erupting from the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus grew increasingly powerful, and the entire Blue Light Treasure Bottle began to show faint signs of collapsing, its already illusory body vibrating violently and becoming increasingly blurred.

But this time was different from when he encountered the Ancient Fierce Beast last time.

Last time, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle could actively terminate the subjugation process at any moment, but right now it was riding a tiger and could not get off; almost all of its power was being held back by the Divine Stele, leaving it no time at all to suppress the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus.

Therefore, amidst one muffled, thunder-like impact after another, accompanied by a burst of bright Blue Starlight exploding in the center of the seal, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle suddenly swayed violently. Several pitch-black root vines of the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus suddenly darted out along the illusory bottle mouth, instantly expanding to the thickness of a waist, and like giant pythons, they rushed from the already collapsing starlight vortex into the fractured Void, coiling around the Divine Stele that was almost no longer visible.

"Quick, circulate your refining technique to stabilize the bottle; my power is not enough to pull the Divine Stele in!"

The slightly anxious and panting voice of the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus rang out in Xu Chen's mind.

Xu Chen was both surprised and delighted, but he still hesitated and asked: "Once I start refining, you will also be hurt!"

"Stop dawdling! I have been refined by you for so long, what kind of fake kindness and benevolence are you pretending to have now? Hurry up, I can't hold on much longer!" the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus roared in anger.

Xu Chen gritted his teeth and began to circulate the Grand Void Demon Refining Art with all his might once again.

In an instant, the entire illusory Blue Light Treasure Bottle was filled with colorful lightning, and streams of white light rushed out of the bottle mouth, appearing out of thin air within Xu Chen's body.

Under the impact of the powerful white light, Xu Chen's torn Soul began to repair and grow stronger, the illusory Blue Light Treasure Bottle also emitted a bright glow, and as it slowly became clear, the fading and crumbling Blue Starlight vortex also brightened once again.

"Roar~~"

Amidst the sky full of lightning, the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus erupted with an unprecedented, sharp roar, and the vine, which was like a giant python within the starlight vortex, tightened its grip, desperately pulling at the entangled Divine Stele in an attempt to drag it into the treasure bottle.

(End of this chapter)