Chapter 235: The World Mourns, Fate Falls

Jiang Tianheng tried to resist, but sharp pains shot through his Divine Soul, leaving his mind blank.

It was the Spirit Cone Pierce of the Nine Firmament Spirit Refining Art.

Caught off guard, Jiang Tianheng stood frozen in place.

Without warning, his body was split in half by a sword starting from the top of his head.

Pshhh!

Blood gushed out, and organs scattered across the ground.

A dignified First Layer of Emperor Realm powerhouse, the Jiang Family Old Ancestor Jiang Tianheng, died in such a pathetic manner!

If not for the suppression of the Burial God Ridge's rules, and if he hadn't already been heavily injured by the Black Scale Demon Ape while suffering from Dao injuries…

If he hadn't happened to be ambushed by Zhou Chen, causing him to lose his reason and use the power of the Emperor Realm, triggering a severe backlash from the rules of the Burial God Ridge…

A dignified Emperor Realm expert could not have been so useless, nor could he have died so easily.

Unfortunately, there are no "ifs."

At the moment of Jiang Tianheng's death.

Blood rain suddenly began to fall from the sky.

Every Cultivator in the Eastern Desolate could see blood-colored tears falling continuously from the heavens.

Everyone stared blankly; this was a phenomenon of heaven and earth—the fall of an Emperor Realm powerhouse. Blood rain filled the sky as the world mourned!

—

Jiang Family, ancestral land.

Inside the Soul Lamp Hall.

The soul lamp representing Jiang Tianheng suddenly flickered out.

"What?!"

The Elder guarding the lamps widened his eyes, his whole body trembling. "The Old Ancestor's soul lamp… has gone out?!"

He immediately rushed out of the Soul Lamp Hall and sprinted toward the Council Hall.

"Disaster has struck! Old Ancestor Jiang Tianheng's soul lamp has been extinguished!"

The entire Jiang Family instantly erupted into chaos.

In the Council Hall, several high-ranking members of the Jiang Family gathered.

"Is it confirmed?" The Jiang Family Clan Chief's face was ashen.

"Confirmed."

The lamp-guarding Elder knelt on the ground, trembling. Such an event had not occurred in the Flame Clan for tens of thousands of years.

"The Old Ancestor… is dead?"

An Elder couldn't believe it. "That was an Old Ancestor of the First Layer of Emperor Realm! Who could kill him?!"

"Send people to the Burial God Ridge immediately!"

The Jiang Family Clan Chief stood up, his eyes bloodshot. "No matter who killed the Old Ancestor, they must pay the price!"

"Pass down my command: strike the Clan-Shaking Bell six times. The entire clan will enter a state of war. Dispatch a squad of Jin Yi Guards; even if they have to dig three feet into the ground, they must find the murderer!"

The Jin Yi Guards were one of the highest combat forces of an Emperor Clan, usually deployed only during major crises.

Each squad of Jin Yi Guards consisted of at least three Emperor Realms and a hundred Quasi-Emperors. The Captain of the Jin Yi Guards required a cultivation of at least the Emperor Realm Fifth Layer or above to hold the position.

This showed how enraged the Jiang Family was, directly utilizing the foundation of their Emperor Clan.

"Yes, Old Ancestor!"

Everyone's expression was solemn as they answered in unison.

—

Zhou Chen stood beside Jiang Tianheng's corpse, panting heavily, the blood on his longsword not yet dry.

"The old geezer is finally dead."

He breathed a sigh of relief and instantly took Jiang Tianheng's storage ring.

A storage ring from a First Layer of Emperor Realm powerhouse—with just a fleeting glance before he could even take a proper inventory, he found many good things inside.

However, just as Zhou Chen was preparing to leave, the entire ground suddenly shook, and rubble fell from the cave ceiling.

A strange and terrifying aura was rapidly approaching!

Zhou Chen's expression changed abruptly, and his pupils couldn't help but contract.

Within the range of his Divine Thought, he could sense that this aura was too sinister—more than ten times more terrifying than the Black Scale Demon Ape! Moreover, that cold, eerie feeling made his hair stand on end.

"Damn it!"

Without any hesitation, golden light instantly erupted beneath Zhou Chen's feet.

"Taiyi Golden Light Step!"

He transformed into a beam of brilliant flowing light, shooting out at an incredible speed. Wherever the golden light passed, the air was torn into ripples.

The Taiyi Golden Light Step was a top-tier movement technique of the Imperial Rank Top-Grade. Coupled with Zhou Chen pouring Chaos Spiritual Energy into it, his speed soared to the extreme.

Before long, Zhou Chen completely vanished from the spot.

At that moment, the eerie aura also rushed over, but it missed its target.

"Good thing I left quickly…"

Zhou Chen dashed several hundred miles in one breath before stopping to catch his breath—not from exhaustion, but from lingering fear.

His back was soaked, and cold sweat trickled down.

"What the hell was that thing just now?"

He looked back; from a distance, the original cave was completely out of sight.

However, he still had lingering fears. That inexplicable aura caused his heart to sound a frantic alarm, a feeling even more intense than when facing an Emperor Realm.

What Zhou Chen didn't know was that shortly after he left—

A thick, inseparable mass of black mist surged into the cave.

Within the black mist, it seemed as if countless resentful spirits were howling, their faces distorted and emitting ear-piercing screams.

These resentful spirits seemed to be powerhouses who had died in the Burial God Ridge, controlled by some inexplicable power and turned into anomalies.

They lunged at Jiang Tianheng's corpse, frantically devouring the residual Emperor Realm aura.

Flesh was gnawed, bones were crushed, and even Soul fragments were absorbed.

In just a few breaths, Jiang Tianheng's corpse was eaten clean, with not even a bone fragment remaining. All traces of the First Layer of Emperor Realm powerhouse were erased just like that.

After finishing its meal, the black mist grew significantly, let out a satisfied burp, and mysteriously vanished.

Only bloodstains and tattered robes remained on the ground.

…

A certain hidden valley.

"Pah, poor bastard!"

Zhou Chen found a relatively safe place, leaned against a giant rock, and began to take inventory of his spoils.

When he had done a rough search earlier, he felt the haul was significant.

However, upon closer inspection, he found that besides one hundred million Top-Grade Spirit Stones, not many Medicinal Pills were left. Among the Spiritual Artifacts, only a few Saint Rank Top-Grade ones were decent; the rest were quite ordinary.

"It seems they were used by Jiang Tianheng. Forget it, let's see what's going on with that old thing Ying Wu Dao now."

Zhou Chen muttered to himself.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, immersed his consciousness into the System, and pulled up Ying Wu Dao's opportunity panel.

[Name: Ying Wu Dao]

[Fate: Ice Clan Emperor Fate (Purple), Heavenly Dao Favor (Purple), Alchemy Genius (Purple)]

[Recent Opportunity: In one day, Ying Wu Dao will discover an earth source strange crystal in an underground fissure eight hundred miles southeast deep within the Burial God Ridge. After absorbing it, his cultivation will recover to the Quasi-Emperor Peak, and his injuries will be eighty percent healed.]

Zhou Chen noticed that Ying Wu Dao's golden Ice Clan Emperor Fate had dropped to purple.

"earth source strange crystal?"

Zhou Chen's eyes instantly lit up.

This thing was no ordinary item!

He immediately checked the details of the Opportunity. The System thoughtfully provided the exact location—eight thousand miles southeast of the Burial God Ridge, in a hidden valley, there was an underground fissure three thousand zhang deep; it was within the rock wall at the bottom of the fissure.

"Hehe, same old rules."

Zhou Chen smiled, the corners of his mouth curling up. "Opportunities have no owner; they belong to the capable. Old dog Ying, I'll look after it for you for now."

He收起 Jiang Tianheng's storage ring and immediately set off.

A distance of eight thousand miles wasn't exactly close for a Quasi-Emperor Cultivator, but it wasn't far either. Zhou Chen traveled at full speed, using the Taiyi Golden Light Step with its golden light restrained, weaving quickly through the mist of the Burial God Ridge.