Chapter 200: One Wave Settles, Another Rises

Before the voice had even faded, it suddenly opened its bloody maw, and countless resentful souls transformed into black chains, sweeping toward the trio from all directions.

"Lei Ming, Nianyu, hold it off!"

Zhou Chen retreated rapidly while simultaneously using his Divine Sense to probe the surroundings. "Time is running out; I'll be responsible for breaking the Formation nodes!"

"Alright!"

Without another word, Lei Ming instantly expanded his Tai Xu Domain.

The power of the void formed barriers one after another, temporarily blocking the attack of the resentful soul chains.

Bei Nianyu no longer hesitated either. Her Ancient Heavenly Kun Bloodline erupted with full force, and the phantom of an Ancient Heavenly Kun unfolded behind her. With every swing of the Kun's tail, eerie Kun Fire burned within the void.

"Ancient Heavenly Kun: Heaven-Burning Emperor Flame!"

The searing Kun Fire collided with the resentful soul chains, producing a sizzling sound.

However, the blood-colored Evil Spirit's strength was too great; even with the two of them joining forces, they could barely withstand it. What was even more terrifying was that as the battle progressed, it continuously absorbed the surrounding Deathly Baleful Qi, and its power continued to grow!

"Brother Zhou, hurry up! We can't hold on for much longer!"

Lei Ming gritted his teeth and persevered, cold sweat already seeping from his forehead.

Zhou Chen did not respond; his consciousness was already completely immersed in the world of Formations.

Knowledge from the Array Emperor's Legacy flowed through his mind as countless Formation Patterns surfaced, combined, and decomposed before his eyes.

The nodes of this Blood Sacrifice Grand Array were extremely complex, composed of eighty-one layers of overlapping Formation Patterns, each with its own unique operational law.

"So that's how it is…"

A sharp light flashed in Zhou Chen's eyes. "The core of this node uses Deathly Baleful Qi as a catalyst and resentful souls as a foundation, constructing a cycle that can continuously absorb life force. To break it, it must be dismantled from the inside!"

He took a deep breath, and the Sword Intent of the Azure Lotus Sword Scripture circulated within his body.

At this moment, he made a bold attempt—fusing Sword Intent with Formation runes!

"Azure Lotus Sword Scripture: Sword Formation Opens the Heavens!"

Perfection Slaughter Sword Intent!

Perfection Great River Sword Intent!

Buzz—

A dazzling golden light erupted from Zhou Chen's body, and countless streaks of Sword Qi shot out from within him. However, these streaks of Sword Qi were not disorganized; they moved according to specific trajectories, forming a massive Formation!

Sword light transformed into Formation Patterns, Formation Patterns condensed into swords—sword and Formation were perfectly fused!

"This is…" Lei Ming watched this scene in shock. "The perfect combination of the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of Formations? How is this possible!"

One must know that the Dao of the Sword emphasized peerless sharpness and moving forward without hesitation, while the Dao of Formations emphasized precise layout and interconnectedness.

The two seemed poles apart, yet Zhou Chen had perfectly fused them!

The blood-colored Evil Spirit seemed to sense the threat and lunged toward Zhou Chen frantically: "No! Don't you dare think of destroying the grand array!"

"Stop it!"

Bei Nianyu let out a delicate shout, and the Ancient Heavenly Kun phantom exerted its power, forming a massive Kun Fire barrier.

Lei Ming also gave his all, compressing his void Domain to the limit to firmly trap the blood-colored Evil Spirit.

Just then, Zhou Chen's preparations were complete.

His hands formed seals, and a massive phantom of a green lotus surfaced behind him. The lotus slowly bloomed, and every petal was condensed from pure Sword Intent.

"Azure Lotus Sword Scripture, First Form—First Bloom of the Azure Lotus!"

"Break for me!"

Zhou Chen gave a great roar, and the green lotus phantom exploded violently, transforming into a sky-reaching sword light that slashed directly at the core of the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array's node!

This sword strike not only contained the supreme Sword Intent of the Azure Lotus Sword Scripture but also integrated the Formation-breaking methods of the Array Emperor's Legacy. Wherever the sword light passed, layers of Formation Patterns were torn apart like paper!

Rumble—

The entire space shook violently, and countless cracks appeared on the ground. Under the impact of the sword light, the blood-colored Formation node began to collapse, emitting a piercing cracking sound.

"No—"

The blood-colored Evil Spirit let out a desperate howl; its source of power was being severed!

Crack!

Finally, the blood-colored node shattered completely, dissipating into a sky full of light specks.

At the same time, the Deathly Baleful Qi accumulated here lost its restraint and soared into the sky like a volcanic eruption, forming a black pillar of light that reached straight into the clouds!

This pillar of light was too conspicuous; everyone in the entire Tai Xu Secret Realm could see it.

"Aaaah—"

The blood-colored Evil Spirit let out a shrill scream. Having lost the support of the Formation node, its body began to disintegrate. But before dissipating, it stared at Zhou Chen malevolently:

"You are dead! Master already knows of your existence; he will not let you go!"

As soon as the words fell, it completely transformed into black smoke and vanished.

However, Zhou Chen's expression became incredibly solemn.

Because at the moment the node was destroyed, he felt a Divine Sense terrifying to the extreme lock onto them!

That was the aura of the Quasi-Emperor Evil Spirit!

"Roar—"

A world-shaking roar came from afar, making the entire Secret Realm tremble. A wave of monstrously evil aura was rapidly approaching!

"Not good, it's that Quasi-Emperor Evil Spirit!" Lei Ming's face turned pale. "It seems to have discovered us!"

"Let's go!"

Without a word, Zhou Chen grabbed Bei Nianyu with one hand and Lei Ming with the other. His Taiyi Golden Light Step erupted with full force as he transformed into a streak of light and fled into the distance.

Behind them, a terrifying pressure surged like a tide, as if it wanted to crush the entire world.

"Damned ants, how dare you destroy this seat's grand array!"

The Quasi-Emperor Evil Spirit's angry voice resounded through the heavens and earth, carrying endless killing intent.

Zhou Chen gritted his teeth and flew at full speed, thinking to himself: Destroying just one node caused such a huge commotion; it seems the next actions must be even more cautious.

But regardless, the first node had been successfully destroyed. This was a good start!

"Brother Zhou Chen, where are we going?" Bei Nianyu asked nervously.

"We'll lose it first!" Zhou Chen's Divine Sense swept the surroundings, searching for a place to hide.

Just then, he suddenly thought of something. A cold smile curled at the corners of his mouth as he sped off in another direction.

…

Tai Xu Secret Realm, Southwest direction.

In the Dan Clan's temporary camp, Bai Yuting was changing medicine for the wounded. After several hours of rest, the clan members' injuries had stabilized.

"Yuting, are those two people from earlier really trustworthy?" a Dan Clan Disciple asked worriedly. "Something like a Quasi-Emperor Evil Spirit sounds too shocking to be true."

Bai Yuting recalled Zhou Chen's guidance on perfecting the ancient Pill Formula, and she felt even more certain: "Third Senior Brother, I believe they weren't lying. Besides, as you've seen, there are more and more Evil Spirits outside; this is definitely not a normal phenomenon."

"Sigh, I hope we're just overthinking it." The Disciple called Third Senior Brother sighed.

Just then, a burst of eerie laughter suddenly came from outside the cave.

"Jie jie jie… Found you. So you were hiding here."

This voice was extremely cold, as if it came from the depths of Hell, making one's skin crawl.

"Who's there?!"

The two Dan Clan Disciples guarding the cave entrance alertly drew their Magical Artifacts, but in the next instant—

Puchi!

Two heads flew high into the air, and blood gushed out like a fountain. Their bodies still maintained a defensive posture, yet they had already lost their lives.

A figure slowly stepped out from the darkness.