Chapter 1166: Underground

Han Wuxian gathered his breath and said calmly, "My junior's cultivation method is unique; it just happens to suppress these demonic heretics. Unfortunately, the leading Soul‑grasping Envoy escaped."

"No matter, a monk can run, but not the temple!" Elder Chu's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "The matter is clear: the Nether Path has colluded with the remnants of the Heavenly Doom Sect! They slaughtered our Hall's disciples and the living of Falling Star City; this grievance will be repaid with blood!"

He looked at the survivors, his tone softening: "Everyone, fear not; we are cultivators of the Star Axis Hall, here to rescue. Yun Chen!"

At that moment, Yun Chen arrived with his disciples from the West Gate; they had only encountered a few stray troops meant to lure the enemy and no fierce fighting ensued.

The group swiftly rescued the survivors and cleared the site.

Han Wuxian then approached the vile flesh altar. The altar had been largely shattered by Elder Chu's lingering sword qi, yet the remaining formation patterns and the few damaged soul banners still exuded an unsettling aura.

His gaze fixed, and in a corner of the altar ruins he found a half‑buried, dark‑red token fragment within the flesh. The token's material resembled the "Lock Star Token" he had obtained before, though its pattern differed slightly; on its back, besides a "Doom" character, there was also a tiny twisted ghost‑face imprint!

Proof of the Heavenly Doom Sect's collusion with the Nether Path!

More importantly, when his fingertip brushed the token fragment, the lamp‑shaped mark on his forehead and the Star Patrol Torch in his chest both emitted a faint scorching sensation again, pointing toward… the depths beneath Falling Star City?

Could it be that the Heavenly Doom Sect and the Nether Path are scheming in Falling Star City not only for slaughter and forging demonic weapons, but for another purpose? Something related to the star core?

He concealed the token fragment without a hint of emotion.

At that moment, a rescued, slightly less‑injured Elder of Falling Star City, supported by Yun Chen, approached Elder Chu and Han Wuxian, tears streaming, and knelt with a thud: "Thank the senior elders of the Upper Sect for saving our lives! Please, let the Upper Sect arbitrate for us! Those demons… they not only slaughter and refine souls within the city, they… they are also secretly excavating something beneath the City Lord's mansion! It seems… they seem to be looking for something!"

Excavation underground? Looking for something?

Han Wuxian and Elder Chu exchanged a glance, both feeling a weight settle in their hearts.

It seems the depths of Falling Star City run deeper than they imagined! The Nether Path's and Heavenly Doom Sect's motives are far from simple!

"Lead the way!" Elder Chu said without hesitation, his voice deep.

Beneath the City Lord's mansion lay not a secret chamber or passage as imagined, but a massive, rough vertical shaft forcibly carved downward. The walls were scarred by weapon‑driven excavation and corrupt demonic rites; the intense blood‑doom qi mingled with Nether Path ghost qi, nearly coalescing into a tangible black‑red mist that filled the air, making one nauseous. The deeper they went, the more oppressive and evil the chill became; farther down, a faint, heart‑pounding rumble of digging and a low, heartbeat‑like thrum could be heard.

Elder Chu's complexion turned iron‑blue; the Nether Path death qi coiling around his shoulders was forcibly suppressed by his pure Geng‑metal sword qi, yet his face remained grim. He cradled a luminous pearl in his hand, emitting pure starlight that barely dispelled the surrounding evil mist and illuminated the path ahead.

"Such heavy Doom qi! These abominations have polluted the ley line to this extent!" Elder Chu's voice suppressed his fury. A ley line is a spiritual root; once so contaminated, not only will Falling Star City be ruined, but the surrounding thousand miles may gradually turn into a dead zone.

Han Wuxian followed closely, his expression solemn. The scorching sensation at his forehead and the faint resonance of the Star Patrol Torch grew clearer, both pointing to the cavern's deepest part. That low, heartbeat‑like thrum also caused his internal Return‑to‑void Sword Essence to stir with an inexplicable, wary tremor.

Yun Chen led several disciples, shielding the guiding Elder of Falling Star City behind them, all on high alert.

As they descended, they came across several small altars resembling outdoor courtyards and countless corpses, clearly indicating that the Nether Path and the Heavenly Doom Sect had been operating here for a long time.

Finally, a light appeared ahead, not the glow of a pearl but a dim, ghastly green phosphorescence like ghost fire, interspersed with the rumble of digging devices and faint human voices.

Elder Chu gave a hand signal; the group instantly gathered their breath and silently slipped forward.

At the cavern's end, the space opened up!

A massive underground cavern unfolded before them. In its center lay not rock but an enormous, dark‑purple crystal, its surface rough and faintly shimmering with dim starlight! Most of the crystal was buried, only a small portion exposed, yet its size was comparable to a small mountain.

The crystal's surface was riddled with countless twisted, vein‑like filthy patterns, greedily siphoning the ley‑line spiritual energy seeping from the cavern walls and converting it into pure Nether Path death qi and blood‑doom power! That low, heartbeat‑like thrum originated from this massive crystal!

A polluted, actively stimulated star fragment!

Han Wuxian's pupils snapped shut! Though this fragment was far smaller than the core at the bottom of the Star Source Pool, its level of contamination and the evil waves it emitted were far more direct and ferocious!

What alarmed him further was that around this polluted star fragment stood several even larger, more complex Nether Path altars! Hundreds of low‑rank disciples of the Heavenly Doom Sect and the Nether Path scurried like worker ants, pushing captured beings onto the altars. Upon the altars, several demonic cultivators at least at the Nascent Soul stage presided over a vile ceremony, continuously pouring the harvested life essence and blood‑doom power into the star fragment, seemingly to… nourish and activate it!

And the fleeing Soul‑grasping Envoy was also present! His complexion was pale, his chest wound still unhealed, as he urgently spoke to a Nether Path elder clad in black robes, whose aura had reached the late Transformative God stage, wielding a soul‑summoning banner.

"They are using living blood sacrifices to nourish this star‑remnant fragment, aiming to forge it into a demonic weapon!" Elder Chu saw through their scheme at a glance, murderous light flashing in his eyes. "We must not let them succeed!"

If that polluted star‑remnant fragment were fully activated, its unleashed evil power could turn tens of thousands of miles into a ghostly realm!

"Form the array! Exterminate the demons!" Elder Chu shouted without hesitation, an ancient sword soaring behind him, transforming into a hundred‑foot golden sword vortex like a divine judgment blade, slashing the largest altar and the late‑stage Transformative God Nether Path elder!

"Enemy attack!" The Nether Path elder reacted swiftly, letting out a fierce howl; the soul‑summoning banner he wielded flailed violently, releasing countless fierce souls that formed a massive ghost‑face shield against the sword vortex! Simultaneously, two other early‑stage Transformative God Nether Path protectors beside him launched attacks, hurling Nether Path ghost fire and white‑bone chains in a torrent toward Elder Chu!

Boom—Boom—Boom!