Chapter 125: Altar

Ling Xiao rode the sword light, bringing everyone like a meteor tearing through gloom, forcefully charging out of the underground cavity where resentment boiled.

The angry roars and wails behind were quickly cut off by the distorted spatial barrier, becoming vague, but that heaviness and sorrow lingered in everyone's hearts, impossible to dispel.

Yun Tingliao, having exhausted his essence blood and demonic power and forcibly used his bloodline secret technique, has now completely fallen into a coma, his breath even weaker than before. Shi Ran exerted herself to maintain the defense, continuously feeding him gentle spiritual power to cling to a thread of life. Wei Yuzhu and Luo Changfeng closely followed Ling Xiao on either side, vigilant for any possible attack.

The sword light fled, weaving through increasingly chaotic spatial rifts. The surrounding scenery was bizarre: at times a void of darkness, at times flashing illusions of shattered mountains and rivers, at times wrapped in thick resentment that could not dissipate. If not for Ling Xiao's profound grasp of spatial laws, forcibly stabilizing the small area around the sword light, everyone would have long been torn apart by this violent spatial turbulence.

"Master, Yun Tingliao……" Shi Ran looked at Yun Tingliao in her arms, his face deathly pale as paper, worried.

"He won't die for now." Ling Xiao's voice remained calm, but listening closely one could detect a faint fatigue. "His bloodline is special; that mouthful of essence blood, though it harmed his origin, also stimulated his latent vitality. If he holds on, there may be a turning point. The medicinal efficacy of the Pure Heart Pill still protects his meridians."

His words paused, and the sword light suddenly turned, avoiding a huge spatial rift spreading silently.

"Hold on, we're almost there." Ling Xiao said in a deep voice, "The distortion of space is weakening, but the energy ahead…… is even more strange."

Everyone's spirits lifted, they focused their gaze forward.

Only see ahead, the chaotic scenery gradually stabilized; a huge ancient platform, seemingly built of obsidian, slowly rose. Upon the platform stood dozens of stone pillars engraved with strange runes, their tops burning with azure flames, casting the whole platform in a sinister, terrifying light.

At the platform's center stood an altar exactly like the one in the previous vision!

This altar was larger and more substantial, its whole body built from a dark red stone as if soaked in dried blood. Around the altar piled like mountains were spirit crystals, demon beast inner cores, and various heavenly treasures emitting strange energy, forming a vast and evil energy supply array.

And above the altar—

"Third Senior Brother!" Shi Ran exclaimed in shock, then glanced toward Ling Xiao.

Only see Xiao Muyu hovering directly above the altar, eyes tightly shut, his complexion tranquil to an almost uncanny degree, as if fallen into sleep. Yet his whole body was tightly entwined by countless dark red energy threads like blood vessels, their other ends connected to the altar itself, faintly throbbing; each throb drew out strands of pale golden primordial source power from his body, injecting it into the altar below. His breath was steadily weakening at a slow but discernible pace.

Around the altar, faintly visible were the silhouettes of twenty-six other cultivators, likewise bound by dark red energy threads, suspended in various positions like moths caught in a spider's web, their life force likewise draining away, converging toward the altar's center.

Even more heart‑pounding, the altar's center was not empty; there hovered a mass of constantly writhing, shape‑shifting darkness. It had no fixed form—sometimes like a beating heart, sometimes extending twisted tentacles, sometimes becoming a blurred, painful human face. It greedily absorbed the power drawn from Xiao Muyu and the other cultivators, exuding an extreme hunger, madness, and evil will.

Merely a glance made one's soul tremble and induced nausea.

"What… what is that?!" Wei Yuzhu gripped her Cinnabar Sword tightly, a chill rising in her heart.

"It is 'food,' and also a 'vessel'." Ling Xiao's eyes were sharp as blades, fixed on that dark mass. "It is devouring Muyu and the others' primordial source to nourish itself, and at the same time…… it is a coordinate, a beacon, attempting to communicate with some extremely distant and terrifying entity, to draw it down—or…… to seize its power!"

And just beneath the altar, a figure sat cross-legged.

He wore a black robe, his frame gaunt, his whole person seeming to blend into the shadow cast by the altar, almost imperceptible. Only when the crowd drew near did he slowly lift his head, revealing a pale, ordinary face, save for a pair of eyes as deep as an ancient cold pool, devoid of any emotion, only an almost absolute indifference and calculation.

He emanated no powerful energy fluctuations, seeming merely an ordinary guard. Yet in such a place, to sit in that posture beneath so evil an altar already testified to his extraordinary nature.

"At last you have come." The black‑robed man spoke, his voice plain yet clearly audible to all, "A bit slower than expected. It seems the arrangements at the Wolf Burrow have indeed caused you considerable trouble."

His gaze swept over the unconscious Yun Tingliao, then over Ling Xiao and the others, finally settling on Shi Ran, whom Ling Xiao shielded behind him; in those icy eyes flickered an almost imperceptible, elusive ripple.

"However, it matters not. The ritual is nearing its end, the 'seed' is about to mature, the 'gate' is about to open." He slowly rose, "Your arrival might serve as the final catalyst, making this feast even more perfect."

Ling Xiao held the sword light hovering at the edge of the altar platform, Dragon Chant Sword pointed at the black‑robed man, sword aura shooting to the heavens, his icy voice suppressing all evil aura:

"Who are you? Stop the ritual, or die."

Facing Ling Xiao's terrifying sword pressure, the black‑robed man merely shook his head slightly, as if regretting something.

"Who I am is not important. What matters is that you cannot stop all this." He raised a hand, pointing at Xiao Muyu above the altar. "His fate was fixed long ago; he is the perfect 'key,' an indispensable sacrifice for welcoming the descent of 'Dusk'."

"As for stopping the ritual?" The black‑robed man's lips twitched ever so slightly—not a smile, but absolute indifference—"Just by you…… and…… that demon king Yun Tingcang outside, frantically assaulting the formation in a mad bid to save his brother, to no avail?"

As his words fell, the entire obsidian platform shuddered violently!

The writhing dark mass on the altar suddenly expanded, emitting a soundless yet piercingly sharp hiss!

The dark red vessels entwining Xiao Muyu and the twenty‑six other cultivators blazed bright, the speed of drawing power instantly multiplying severalfold! Xiao Muyu's body trembled slightly, his tranquil expression finally giving way to a hint of pain.

The ritual has entered its final stage!

Time, truly, is running out!

"Attack!" Ling Xiao hesitated no more, his sword light surged forward, straight‑cutting the black‑robed man!

Wei Yuzhu and Luo Changfeng shouted in unison, sword talismans unleashed together, striking the energy supply array around the altar, trying to sever its support!

Shi Ran gently placed Yun Tingliao in the relatively safe zone sheltered by the sword light; gold‑black light flickered wildly in her heterochromatic eyes, demonic and spiritual power poured out unreservedly, forming a blazing column of light that fiercely struck the dark red vessels entwining Xiao Muyu!

The great battle erupted explosively atop this final altar!

Ling Xiao's sword light was as swift as thunder, imbued with the chilling intent to sever laws, straight‑cleaving the black‑robed man's face; if this strike landed true, even mountains and rivers would have to split.

Yet the black‑robed man neither dodged nor evaded, merely raising his pallid, gaunt hand.

His fingertip pointed forth, soundless and unnoticed.

There was no earth‑shaking energy collision, no splendid flash of laws shattering. Ling Xiao's sword, capable of rending void, when still about a zhang from the black‑robed man, seemed to sink into an endless mire, its speed plummeting, the blade light visibly dimming and congealing, finally being forcibly halted in mid‑air!

It was as if the time and rules of that space had been completely stripped away and frozen!

Ling Xiao's pupils contracted slightly; he drew the sword finger, the Dragon Chant Sword emitted an unwilling hum, forcibly shattering that intangible bond, flying back to hover before him, the blade's luster flowing, yet somewhat dimmer than before.

"A spatial seal? No…… perhaps an embryonic form of the Annihilation Law?" Ling Xiao's voice carried unprecedented gravity. The opponent's casual finger actually contained such terrifying power—far beyond an ordinary cultivator.

On the other side, Wei Yuzhu's and Luo Changfeng's attacks had already bombarded the energy array surrounding the altar.

Sword‑gang talismans burst forth in brilliant light, yet the piled‑up spirit crystals and treasures suddenly flared, forming an impregnable energy barrier that blocked both attacks entirely; the recoil sent Wei Yuzhu and Luo Changfeng's qi and blood surging, forcing them to stumble backward.

"Impossible! This energy array is one with the entire altar and even this space; brute force cannot break it!" Luo Changfeng exclaimed urgently.

Shi Ran's light column hammered the dark red vessels; they shuddered violently, emitting a grating screech, and a few even showed fine cracks. The accelerated‑drain Xiao Muyu let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, as if feeling the external impact.

Effective!

Shi Ran's spirits lifted, preparing to increase output, when the writhing darkness at the altar's center suddenly split off a tendril of black gas, shooting like a venomous snake along the vessels and instantly colliding with her light column!

Boom!

Gold‑black light and evil black air frenziedly corroded; Shi Ran felt an icy, deathly, devouring force surge back, shaking her demonic and spiritual power almost to chaos, a sweetness rose in her throat as she forcibly swallowed the counter‑flowing blood, her light column flickering erratically.

The black‑robed man did not pursue Ling Xiao, merely watching all this indifferently, as if observing a play unrelated to him.

"Futile struggle." He stated flatly, "This formation is the Myriad Sources Return to the Abyss Grand Array, taking earth‑vein resentment as its foundation, the remnants of imperial‑level experts as its locks, and further aided by the primordial source of twenty‑seven gifted cultivators as kindling, igniting the 'Primordial Source Darkness'—how could you possibly shake it?"

His gaze once again fell on Shi Ran; that icy scrutiny made her feel as if plunged into an ice cellar.

"But you…… this abyssal sea of consciousness, this power…… an interesting variable. Still, it cannot change the predestined ending."

Before his words even finished, the altar platform shuddered violently again!

This time, it did not come from the black-robed person or the altar itself, but from outside!

Boom—boom!

It was as if a giant were madly pounding this space with terrifying force; fine cracks began to appear at the edges of the obsidian platform, and the spatial distortion grew worse.

"It's… Yun Tingcang!" Wei Yuzhu exclaimed, "He is forcibly attacking the grand formation from outside!"

The black-robed person frowned slightly, seeming mildly dissatisfied with this sudden interference, but remained calm: "A trapped beast's struggle. The more frantically he burns his demonic power to attack, the faster he accelerates the dissipation of his brother's remnant soul, merely adding to the pain."

Yet Yun Tingcang's reckless, all-out attack ultimately brought a hint of change. The altar's stability flickered momentarily, and the light of the barrier enclosing the energy array flashed.

Now!

Lingxiao keenly seized this fleeting opportunity!

He did not attack the black-robed person again; instead, he changed his sword art, and the Dragon Yin Sword let out a piercing, stone-splitting long cry. The sword light did not strike a physical target but transformed into countless ice‑clear sword threads as fine as silk, which, as if alive, penetrated with uncanny precision the flickering seam in the energy barrier and plunged directly into the interior of the energy array.

"Dragon Yin—Shatter Soul!"

Lingxiao gave a low shout.

The next instant, a rapid series of light cracking sounds like rain on banana leaves came from within.

Among the mountain‑piled spirit crystals, inner cores, and treasures, a small portion of their internal energy structure was instantly shattered by Lingxiao's all‑penetrating sword qi, triggering a chain of tiny explosions.

Although the entire energy array was not completely destroyed, its operation became noticeably sluggish and chaotic, and the altar's speed of drawing power suddenly slowed.

"Master is mighty!" Luo Changfeng exclaimed delightedly.

The blood‑vessel light entwining Xiao Muyu dimmed, Shi Ran's pressure suddenly dropped, and she immediately resumed channeling power, frantically striking the blood vessels!

The black‑robed person finally moved.

He took a step forward.

Just that single step caused the platform's pressure to surge tenfold, as if the heavens were collapsing, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts and souls.

"Ants, actually capable of repeatedly causing trouble." The black‑robed person's voice remained flat, yet a hint of impatience tinged it: "It seems we need to clear them out first."

He raised his hand; this time his target was Shi Ran, who was desperately destroying the blood vessels. An invisible yet world‑annihilating terrifying force instantly condensed.

Lingxiao's face changed drastically; his sword light flashed as he prepared to rush to her aid.

But someone was faster than him!

The previously unconscious Yun Tingliao somehow forced open a slit of his eyes, sensed the lethal threat aimed at Shi Ran, and almost instinctively, using his last ounce of strength, shoved the nearby Wei Yuzhu—whose qi and blood were disrupted by the formation's backlash—aside.

At the same time, the jade pendant at his waist—a protective talisman given to him years ago by his second brother, Yun Tingche—sensed the extreme danger and the shared bloodline obsession, activated on its own, and burst forth a final faint silver light that shielded Shi Ran—and also himself.

The black‑robed person's annihilating fingertip strike descended!

Hiss!

The silver light emitted by the jade pendant shattered like paper in an instant.

Yun Tingliao's body shuddered violently; he spat a large mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments, flew backward like a broken‑string kite, and slammed heavily onto the obsidian floor. His life force flickered like a candle in the wind, rapidly dimming, nearly extinguished.

"Yun Tingliao!" Shi Ran's eyes nearly burst with fury as she glared at the black‑robed person.