System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

156: Deep within the Demon Cave, fragments of the Ancestral SymbolAs he stepped into the cave, the dim yellow light and the noise of the outside world were instantly cut off, replaced by a bone-chilling cold and a deathly silence. Dense Devilish Qi, almost tangible, wrapped around him like a viscous liquid, mixed with an ancient, chaotic, and eerie power that seemed capable of eroding the Divine Soul.

Ye Chen’s Chaos Domain naturally expanded around him, its gray air currents slowly rotating to devour and transform all the incoming Devilish Qi and chaotic thoughts. The chaos ancestral talisman in his Qi Sea emitted an increasingly clear hum, and its guidance became incredibly intense; the source was deep within the cave.

The interior of the cave was wider than expected. The passage sloped downward, and the walls were not made of rock but a cold, black material with a metallic luster. Ancient totems, long since blurred, were carved upon them, where one could faintly discern patterns of twisted monsters and stars. A faint scent of sulfur and decay permeated the air.

He did not dare to be careless. His Divine Sense carefully probed forward like tentacles while he suppressed his aura to the extreme, his footsteps as light as feathers as he slowly ventured deeper.

The passage wound and twisted as if it had no end. After traveling for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a fork appeared in the road. One path continued downward, where the Devilish Qi was even denser; the other was relatively level, but the chaotic, eroding intent was stronger there.

The sensation from the chaos ancestral talisman pointed toward the downward path.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment before choosing to go down. The further down he went, the more the temperature weirdly rose. The air grew hotter, and the Devilish Qi began to be flecked with dark red sparks, as if the depths of the earth connected to some lava demon realm.

After traveling another distance, the passage suddenly opened up, and a massive underground grotto appeared before his eyes.

In the center of the grotto was a lava pool bubbling with dark red gas, the intense heat slightly distorting the air. Floating right in the center of the lava pool was a strange crystal about the size of a fist, pitch-black and covered in countless fine cracks! Within those cracks, a dark red light faintly flowed, as if sealing some violent energy.

What shocked Ye Chen’s heart and soul the most was that directly above that black crystal floated a small fragment, about the size of a fingernail, emitting a faint but pure chaotic radiance!

The aura of that fragment shared the same source as the chaos ancestral talisman deep in his Qi Sea, only it was more broken and dim, as if it could be completely extinguished at any moment!

A fragment of the chaos ancestral talisman!

Ye Chen’s heart beat uncontrollably faster. No wonder the ancestral talisman had such a strong reaction! If he could fuse with this fragment, the chaos ancestral talisman would surely recover part of its power, and the boost to him would be all-encompassing!

However, Opportunity often coexists with danger. Below the black crystal and the ancestral rune fragment, within the churning lava, a massive shadow loomed, emitting a terrifying aura that made one’s heart tremble. It was at least at the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm, and might even have touched the threshold of the Tiangang Realm! That was the true guardian of this place!

Beyond that, Ye Chen keenly sensed that the entire grotto was shrouded in an extremely subtle yet powerful Restriction. The source of that Restriction’s power seemed to be the black crystal in the center, which constantly emitted chaotic and eroding intent!

“chaos demon crystal...” A term flashed through Ye Chen’s mind. This was a record he had seen in an ancient book; it was a rare treasure formed by the condensation of the most evil and wicked chaotic Laws in heaven and earth, and it was also an extremely terrifying sealing core and energy source.

This place was truly no good land! It was like an ancient forbidden ground, and that chaos ancestral talisman fragment was likely drawn here by the power of this chaos demon crystal, or perhaps imprisoned here by it.

Just as Ye Chen was observing, a sudden change occurred!

The chaos monitoring compass in his robes actually sent another warning! It wasn’t directed at the guardian monster in the lava, but... from the passage behind him!

Someone had followed him in! And they were moving extremely fast!

Ye Chen’s eyes turned cold. His figure instantly vanished behind a protruding black boulder at the grotto’s entrance, suppressing his aura and Chaos Domain to the limit to blend into the surrounding darkness and Devilish Qi.

Almost simultaneously, two figures flitted into the grotto like ghosts.

Leading them was the One-Eyed Strongman who had returned! His face was still somewhat pale, and bandages were wrapped around his chest with faint traces of blood seeping through; clearly, Ye Chen’s sword strike had wounded him significantly. But the greed and madness in his eyes were even stronger than before!

Following beside him was an old man dressed in dark purple robes, his face as gaunt as a skeleton. The old man held a white bone staff and emitted a cold, eerie aura. His cultivation was actually at the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm! He was even stronger than the One-Eyed Strongman!

“Elder Withered Bone, it’s right here!” The One-Eyed Strongman pointed at the chaos demon crystal in the center of the grotto and the ancestral rune fragment above it, his single eye flashing with a burning light. “The power contained in that black crystal is terrifying; it’s definitely a supreme treasure! And that small glowing fragment feels even more extraordinary! If we can get them and offer them to the Cult Leader, it will surely be a great achievement!”

The old man known as Elder Withered Bone swept his cloudy eyes over the chaos demon crystal and the ancestral rune fragment. His pupils shrank slightly before revealing intense greed. “Indeed! Especially that glowing fragment—its aura... I have never heard of anything like it in all of antiquity! It is certainly an incredible Opportunity! Wu Mu, you have done a great service this time!”

The Wu Mu he spoke of was precisely that One-Eyed Strongman.

Elder Withered Bone turned his gaze back to the lava pool, a hint of gravity appearing on his withered face. “However, the ‘Lava Demon Lizard’ in this pool is not easy to deal with. Its strength has reached the Peak Ninth Level; it has thick skin and tough flesh, and it can control subterranean fire and lava. Moreover, the Restriction here is strict and connected to that black crystal. If we touch it rashly, something unexpected might happen.”

Wu Mu said urgently, “Elder, that kid definitely came in too; he might be hiding nearby! We can’t let him reap the benefits! Why don’t we join forces to forcibly kill that Lava Demon Lizard first, then find a way to break the Restriction and take the treasure!”

Elder Withered Bone pondered for a moment, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. “Fine! We’ll do as you say! Move!”

The two were clearly very synchronized. Before the words had even finished, they attacked simultaneously!

Elder Withered Bone struck the ground with his bone staff, chanting under his breath. Countless pale bone claws instantly erupted from the grotto floor, surging like a tide toward the shadow in the lava pool! — Hundred Bone Cage!

Meanwhile, Wu Mu roared and once again swung his damaged giant axe, condensing his entire Demonic Astral Power into a massive axe shadow that hacked violently toward the lava pool! — Earth-Shattering Demon Axe!

“Roar—!!!”

The lava pool exploded, and a massive monster, shaped like a lizard and covered in a dark red lava shell, soared into the sky! It let out an earth-shaking roar, its thick tail sweeping with the force of ten thousand catties, instantly shattering countless bone claws. Simultaneously, it opened its mouth and spat out a stream of searing dark red lava to meet Wu Mu’s axe shadow!

It was indeed the Lava Demon Lizard!

A great battle broke out instantly! Elder Withered Bone’s Spells were eerie and poisonous, constantly summoning bone spears and bone prisons to interfere with and bind the demon lizard. Wu Mu engaged in a head-on clash, his axe shadows crossing as he fought frantically against the lizard’s claws, tail, and lava breath!

The entire grotto shook violently, rubble fell in showers, and the lava churned incessantly.

Hiding in the shadows, Ye Chen calmly observed the battle. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gets the benefit! This was exactly the Opportunity he was waiting for!

His gaze fell primarily on Elder Withered Bone. This old devil had the highest cultivation and strange methods; he was the greatest threat. Furthermore, he noticed that when Elder Withered Bone cast Spells, he seemed wary of the eroding intent emitted by the chaos demon crystal and needed to divert part of his mind to resist it.

“The Opportunity lies in a single instant...” Ye Chen thought to himself. The guixu sword quietly appeared in his hand, and Chaos Gang Qi began to slowly condense.

In the field, the battle reached a fever pitch. Although the Lava Demon Lizard was powerful, it gradually fell into a disadvantage against the joint siege of two high-level Earth Fiend Realm devilish Cultivators. Several cracks were hacked into its hard lava shell by Wu Mu’s giant axe, from which scalding blood flowed, and its movements were constantly delayed by Elder Withered Bone’s bone-element Spells.

“Now is the time! Bone Demon Heart-Devourer!” Elder Withered Bone saw his chance. Green ghost fire suddenly ignited in the eye sockets of the skull atop his bone staff, and an invisible, intangible curse wave aimed directly at the Divine Soul shot toward the Lava Demon Lizard!

The demon lizard let out a roar of pain, its movements instantly stiffening.

“Die!” Wu Mu seized this fleeting Opportunity. His entire Demonic Astral Power burned as he became one with his axe, turning into a black flash that tore through space, piercing directly toward the demon lizard’s relatively fragile throat!

Just as it seemed the demon lizard would perish under this axe—

Another change occurred!

The chaos demon crystal, which had remained motionless, seemed to be triggered by the intense energy collision below and the tragic aura of the dying demon lizard. The cracks on its surface suddenly lit up with a blinding dark red light!

“Buzz—!”

A violent, chaotic impact of terrifying intent, enough to make an Earth Fiend Realm Cultivator lose their mind instantly, surged like a bursting flood, violently sweeping through the entire grotto!

Wu Mu and Elder Withered Bone, who were at the forefront, suddenly stiffened, their faces showing pain and confusion as their offensive inevitably faltered!

Even the dying Lava Demon Lizard let out an even more frenzied roar!

And in that moment when everyone was being struck by the chaotic intent—

Ye Chen, who had been hiding all along, moved!

He was like a leopard that had been waiting for its moment. His target was not anyone, nor was it the chaos demon crystal, but—the chaos ancestral talisman fragment floating directly above the crystal, its light flickering slightly due to the crystal’s movement!

His speed was at the extreme. His Chaos Domain led the way, forcibly pushing aside the chaotic intent impact and the dense Devilish Qi!

“Junior, how dare you!” Elder Withered Bone was the first to regain a sliver of clarity from the Chaos. Seeing Ye Chen’s actions, his eyes nearly split with rage, and his bone staff instinctively pointed toward Ye Chen.

But he was still a moment too late!

Ye Chen’s palm had already crossed the final few yards, grabbing the ancestral rune fragment that emitted a chaotic radiance!

It was ice-cold to the touch, yet it carried a throb of Bloodline connection!

“It’s mine!”