Chapter 173: Heart of the Array Emperor, Evil Spirit Clan Appears

The figure of the Emperor's Corpse had completely disappeared.

The Lightning Tribulation in the sky only then slowly dissipated.

At this point, the Emperor's Corpse, Chen Ping, had completely fallen!

Seeing this, Zhou Chen couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

If the Emperor's Corpse hadn't been locked by the Formation, he would likely have been pinned down in an instant.

If it weren't for the Lightning Tribulation, he probably would have suffered a crushing defeat.

However, even someone as powerful as the Array Emperor, whose plans spanned a hundred thousand years, saw it all come to naught in a single day!

Zhou Chen couldn't help but sigh at the hardships of seeking the Dao, but his heart became even more firm and calm.

The path of seeking the Dao is long; I shall search high and low.

The more impoverished, the firmer the resolve; the path is blocked and long, but if I hold onto my original heart, I will have no regrets even in death.

Swish!

A streak of light sank into Zhou Chen's hand; it was actually the Heart of the Array Emperor.

Zhou Chen investigated with his Divine Sense, and a massive amount of information flooded in; it was actually the true Array Emperor Legacy.

The Array Emperor's insights into Formations over countless years, various lost ancient Formations, and cultivation Systems were all contained within.

What made Zhou Chen even more speechless was that a storage space was hidden within the Heart of the Array Emperor.

He did a rough inventory: 10 million Top-Grade Spirit Stones, several Imperial Rank Artifact Refining Materials, one Imperial Rank Top-Grade Formation Plate, several Legacy Jade Slips, an unknown torso bone, an ancient Cultivation Technique Jade Slip, several Soul Beads, ancient Pill Formulas, rare Materials, and so on.

There were even a few scattered Imperial Rank Low Grade Spiritual Artifacts… but what surprised Zhou Chen the most was that there were actually three relatively large fragments of the chaos bell inside.

At the same time, a thick streak of white Starry Sky Emperor Road Luck surged into Zhou Chen's emperor seal.

Buzz—

Zhou Chen's emperor seal instantly turned a rich purple-gold color.

"I'm rich."

Zhou Chen was overjoyed internally, but he remained calm and indifferent on the surface.

The surviving Holy Land Prodigies were now collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, their faces filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.

They looked at Zhou Chen's upright figure in the center, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude.

Especially the Imperial Clan geniuses who had looked down on him before; every single one of them was now thoroughly impressed.

Ji Wuming looked at Zhou Chen with a complex expression. He sheathed his longsword and said to Zhou Chen in a deep voice, "Hey, your name is Zhou Chen, right? You're quite good. This time… I owe you a life. When there's a chance, we still need to determine who's superior."

Lei Ming laughed loudly and patted Zhou Chen's shoulder. "Brother Zhou, you're amazing! Come visit our Lei Clan in the future, and I'll treat you to the best wine!"

Ye Xuan and Bai Yuting also came over with smiles to greet him, both very grateful to Zhou Chen for saving them. After this life-and-death trial, these few people could be considered to have a bond forged in blood with Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen waved his hand and looked at everyone, saying, "This place is not suitable for a long stay. The Formation has been broken, and delays may lead to trouble. Everyone, please depart."

Everyone bowed their hands in thanks and quickly left the rift.

Lei Ming, Ye Xuan, and Bai Yuting also gave Zhou Chen a deep look before turning into streaks of light and disappearing.

After confirming that everyone had left, a golden light flashed, and Zhou Chen vanished from the spot.

Not long after everyone left, the spatial rift could no longer hold up and collapsed with a bang.

A quiet corner of the Myriad Beast Valley on the Starry Sky Emperor Road.

So satisfying!

Zhou Chen was in a great mood; not only did he make a huge profit this time, but he also gained a massive amount of Emperor Road Luck.

He looked at those Soul Beads, which contained pure Divine Soul power refined by the Emperor's Corpse, Chen Ping, over a hundred thousand years.

"Perfect. If I absorb this, my Divine Soul will certainly grow quite a bit."

Zhou Chen no longer hesitated and sat down cross-legged.

To be safe, Zhou Chen specifically summoned the Samadhi True Fire and continued to calcine it.

After absorbing the Pure World White Lotus and the Red Lotus True Fire, the purification power of the Samadhi True Fire had been greatly enhanced.

"Aaaaah! I hate this so much…"

Under the continuous calcination of the Samadhi True Fire, the Soul Bead actually turned an eerie red, and piercing screams kept ringing out.

Zhou Chen had stumbled upon this by chance. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Array Emperor's remnant soul had specifically left a hidden move within the Soul Bead, hiding a wisp of Imperial Intent inside, waiting to possess whoever absorbed it.

Who would have thought that Zhou Chen, this sly fox, wouldn't play by the rules at all and was overly cautious.

In front of Zhou Chen, the Array Emperor was like a green recruit.

After about an hour of continuous calcination, the red color of the Soul Bead gradually turned into a pure transparent color, without any Impurities.

That wisp of Imperial Intent also completely dissipated.

Only then did Zhou Chen feel safe enough to begin absorbing; the majestic Soul Power surged into his Sea of Consciousness and was rapidly refined by him.

Buzz!

Fifth level of the Nine Firmament Spirit Refining Art!

Sixth level of the Nine Firmament Spirit Refining Art!

After an unknown amount of time, the power of the Soul Beads was completely absorbed by Zhou Chen. His Divine Soul strength skyrocketed, and his Divine Sense range expanded several times over, becoming even more condensed.

The later the Nine Firmament Spirit Refining Art progresses, the slower the improvement. The remnant Soul Power Zhou Chen absorbed this time was equivalent to four times that of the Blood Fiend Heavenly Lord's remnant soul.

Although he only advanced two levels, Zhou Chen's Divine Soul strength was now no weaker than the tenth level of the Saint Realm. This was the terrifying aspect of the Nine Firmament Spirit Refining Art—exponential growth.

"Time to harvest some leeks."

Zhou Chen stood up, feeling the surging power within him. The barrier to the fifth level of the Saint Realm had already loosened, and he could Breakthrough at any time.

The Emperor's Corpse incident also served as a reminder to Zhou Chen.

If he were to face such a certain-death situation in the future and, by some stroke of bad Luck, the reminder from the System's opportunity panel was bypassed—for example, if he didn't see the opportunity panel prompts of the relevant people—the outcome could be imagined.

This also made Zhou Chen's desire to become stronger even more intense.

Just as Zhou Chen was thinking…

He subconsciously checked the opportunity panels of the passing Cultivators nearby, and what he saw gave him a huge fright!

On the opportunity panels of these people, a line of large words was clearly written: "One day later, in the Myriad Beast Valley of the Starry Sky Emperor Road, encountered a massive hunting siege by the Evil Spirit Clan. Due to the failure of the Starry Sky Emperor Seal, ultimately devoured and killed by the Evil Spirits."

"Myriad Beast Valley on the Starry Sky Emperor Road… Evil Spirit Clan hunting… emperor seal failure… being killed…"

Zhou Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

What on earth is the Evil Spirit Clan?

How come I've never heard of them?

These Evil Spirits appeared out of nowhere and could actually make the emperor seal fail. From the looks of it, they intend to trap and kill all the Cultivators.

"Old Xuan, have you heard of the Evil Spirit Clan?"

Zhou Chen immediately communicated with the Ring Spirit and asked.

"How do you know about the Evil Spirit Clan, kid?"

Old Xuan's voice rose eightfold, sounding extremely shocked.

"Don't worry about that; it seems the Evil Spirit Clan is coming."

Zhou Chen replied.

"Kid, listen well. If you encounter the Evil Spirit Clan, get as far away as possible, understood?"

"The Evil Spirit Clan is extremely mysterious, incomparably evil, and very terrifying and bloody. Cultivators are nothing but food to them; they can absorb a Cultivator's Spiritual Qi, flesh, and Divine Soul to grow rapidly. It's quite horrific. Their last appearance was a hundred thousand years ago, during what was known as the Era of the Emperor's Fall. The downfall of many Imperial Clans seems to be related to the Evil Spirit Clan."

Old Xuan's voice was very solemn, appearing to be extremely wary of the Evil Spirit Clan.