System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

170: Bloodbath in the Corridor, the Core of the Demon PalaceThe speed of that Nirvana Shadow was extreme. Almost the instant Ye Chen raised the guixu sword, its claws—formed from pure Nirvana energy—had already torn through the air. Carrying a terrifying intent capable of annihilating both the Divine Soul and the Physical Body, it lunged toward Ye Chen’s face!

There was no way to dodge!

Ye Chen’s eyes turned sharp. The sharp pain in his left leg made it impossible to dodge nimbly; he could only meet it head-on!

”Chaos Judgment—Extinction!”

He let out a low growl, pushing his barely recovered Chaos Gang Qi and that trace of newly comprehended ”Judgment” true intent to their limits. The guixu sword transformed into a brilliant, righteous, yet ultimately nihilistic gray sword qi. Without dodging, he brazenly met the shadow’s claws!

”Chiii—!”

There was no sound of clashing metal, only a bizarre noise like two rules—originating from the same source yet opposing each other—violently consuming and annihilating one another! Where the gray sword qi collided with the dark claws, space distorted slightly and the light dimmed!

Ye Chen’s entire body shook violently. He felt a pure and cold power of Nirvana travel up the sword, frantically eroding his Chaos Gang Qi and even attempting to freeze his Divine Soul! He let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth as he stumbled back several steps, nearly falling off the railing-less corridor bridge into the abyss!

The Nirvana Shadow was also wounded by the ”Judgment of the End” will contained within the Judgment Sword Intent. Its blurry form fluctuated violently and dimmed significantly as it let out a silent roar, clearly suffering as well.

However, it seemed to have no sense of pain or concept of retreat. After pausing for only a moment, it gathered its strength again, transforming into several condensed dark tentacles that coiled toward Ye Chen from different angles!

Ye Chen’s face was pale. The injury to his left leg severely affected his balance and power delivery, and his Chaos Gang Qi was nearly exhausted. Facing this almost certain-death situation, a look of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes!

He suddenly thrust the guixu sword into the bridge floor and quickly formed hand seals. Deep within his Qi Sea, the chaos ancestral talisman sensed its host’s extreme crisis and vibrated of its own accord once more, drawing forth a surge of Origin power far purer and more vast than Ye Chen’s own!

”Chaos Creation—Heaven and Earth Devourer!”

He thrust both palms forward! A miniature Chaos vortex, which seemed to contain the birth and death of the Universe, suddenly emerged in front of his palms and rapidly expanded!

The moment the incoming dark tentacles touched the Chaos vortex, they were forcibly pulled and twisted by that terrifying suction, then swallowed by the vortex as if cast into a bottomless pit! Not only the energy, but even the trace of Nirvana rule intent within them was forcibly decomposed and assimilated by the Chaos vortex!

”Buzz!”

The chaos ancestral talisman glowed with flowing light, feeding back a surge of pure energy. Though it wasn’t enough to fully compensate for his consumption, it refreshed Ye Chen’s spirit! He felt that after devouring the energy of the Nirvana Shadow, the chaos ancestral talisman seemed to have adapted slightly to the ”Nirvana” rules of this space. Even the activity of the stubborn Death Qi at his left leg wound decreased by another notch!

This Nirvana energy was actually a supplement for the chaos ancestral talisman!?

The Nirvana Shadow apparently hadn’t expected Ye Chen to have such a trick. Its form flickered violently, and its aura withered significantly.

Strike while it’s down!

Ye Chen forced a breath, pulled out the guixu sword, and lunged at the Nirvana Shadow like a pouncing leopard (despite being hampered by his left leg)! Chaos currents coiled around the sword’s light, and that trace of ”Judgment” true intent became even more condensed!

”Guixu!”

He thrust his sword. That point of extreme darkness reappeared at the tip, aimed directly at the densest cluster of Nirvana energy in the shadow’s core!

The shadow let out a sharp mental roar, gathering its remaining strength to form a dark shield!

”Puff!”

The Guixu Sword Intent was unstoppable! The dark shield lasted only a split second before being pierced by the sword tip! Without losing momentum, the sword plunged deep into the shadow’s core!

”Sizzle...”

Like a red-hot iron placed in ice water, the shadow’s core energy rapidly melted and vanished under the Guixu Sword Intent! Its entire blurry form began to collapse and dissipate, finally turning into a wisp of pure grayish-black current. Most of it was devoured by the guixu sword and fed back to Ye Chen, while a small portion merged into the Nirvana intent of the surrounding space.

Ye Chen leaned on his sword, panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat. The brief exchange just now was far more dangerous than his previous battle with Wu Gang. If not for the chaos ancestral talisman coming through at the critical moment, he would have likely fallen here.

He didn’t dare linger. He quickly took a Medicinal Pill, refining its medicinal power while warily observing his surroundings, limping forward along the path guided by the fragmentary map.

Over the next stretch of the path, he encountered three more waves of Nirvana Shadow attacks, with strengths ranging from the eighth to the ninth level of the Earth Fiend Realm. Each time was a narrow escape; he only managed to kill them with great difficulty by relying on the devouring nature of the chaos ancestral talisman and the sharpness of the Guixu Sword Intent. His injuries repeatedly worsened and healed under the nourishment of Chaos Qi during the fierce battles. The purification of his left leg remained slow, but the sense of death seemed suppressed by the space’s Nirvana intent, no longer eroding him as actively.

As he continued to devour the energy of the Nirvana Shadows, Ye Chen clearly felt the chaos ancestral talisman’s adaptability to this environment growing stronger, and his own ability to resist the erosion of the Nirvana intent improved significantly. He even gained a more direct and profound understanding of the ”Nirvana” rule, which showed signs of merging with his ”Chaos Guixu” Sword Intent.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, crossing countless intersecting suspended bridges and avoiding several areas with extremely unstable space and destructive fluctuations, the scene ahead finally changed.

An incredibly wide bridge, appearing as if polished from a single piece of black crystal, appeared at the end of his vision. The end of the bridge connected to a corner of a majestic, ancient, and grand palace suspended over the endless abyss, constructed entirely of dark metal and unknown bone!

Even with only a corner visible, the palace emitted a terrifying pressure that seemed to suppress the heavens and bring silence to all living things! The surface of the palace was covered in countless mysterious and unfathomable demonic sigils, with some areas showing massive damage as if it had experienced an unimaginably tragic battle. Nirvana Devilish Qi, as dense as a physical tide, diffused from inside the palace, causing the surrounding space to tremble slightly.

Nirvana Demon Palace! The true core area!

At the entrance of that massive bridge stood two ten-zhang-tall skeleton statues clad in heavy armor and holding giant blades! Dark red flames burned in their eye sockets, emitting a majestic pressure comparable to the Tiangang Realm! They were not inanimate objects, but sleeping guards!

The guidance of the fragmentary map ended here. The light from the Magic Eye Marker pointed directly at that palace.

Ye Chen stopped in the distance, his expression incredibly grave. He could feel that those two Skeleton Guards were extremely formidable, far beyond what he could currently contend with. Furthermore, the aura emanating from inside the palace made his very Soul tremble.

Charging in would be certain death!

He carefully observed the surroundings, trying to find another entrance or a way to bypass the guards. However, besides this massive main bridge, all other small paths were blocked by invisible spatial barriers or violent energy turbulence once they got within a certain range of the palace.

Was he to stop here?

Just as Ye Chen’s mind raced for a solution, the chaos monitoring compass in his robes suddenly transmitted an extremely faint fluctuation, one that was completely different from its previous sensations!

This fluctuation wasn’t a warning of danger, but... it pointed toward his side and rear, to an inconspicuous narrow path almost covered by shadows!

The path was winding and did not lead to the palace’s main gate; instead, it circled toward the side and bottom of the palace, leading to an extremely hidden damaged gap shrouded in the shadow of a massive metal component!

At the same time, the chaos ancestral talisman deep in his Qi Sea also seemed to be triggered by a faint but purer and more ancient Chaos intent coming from that gap, vibrating slightly!

There was... something there! Something likely of the same Origin as the chaos ancestral talisman, or at least something the talisman could sense and utilize!

A sharp light flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes. This might be his only chance! A chance to potentially bypass the frontal guards, sneak into the Demon Palace, and find a way to heal his leg or even leave!

He didn’t hesitate, immediately restraining all his aura and enduring the sharp pain in his left leg as he cautiously made his way toward that hidden path.

The path was rugged and difficult, covered in sharp metal scraps and energy residue; a single mistake could trigger an unknown Restriction or send him falling into the abyss. Ye Chen pushed his Divine Sense to its limit, walking as if on thin ice with every step.

Finally, he arrived before the damaged gap. The gap wasn’t large, only enough for a person to pass through while crouching, and its edges were jagged as if forcibly torn by some immense force. The interior of the gap was dark and deep, emitting a mixture of stale air and a strange energy.

The sensation from the chaos ancestral talisman grew even stronger!

Ye Chen took a deep breath and, without further delay, bent down and crawled into the gap.

Before him was a narrow passage sloping downward, covered in dust and cobwebs (if such things existed in a Demon Palace). The walls of the passage were cold metal, covered in Formation patterns that had long since failed or were broken.

He traveled down the passage for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick before a half-closed, rusty metal door appeared ahead. Within the doorway, a faint glow of energy peeked through.

Ye Chen gently pushed open the metal door, the hinges letting out a piercing grinding sound.

The scene behind the door caused his pupils to shrink suddenly!

This was a room that wasn’t too large, appearing to be some abandoned energy or control node of the Demon Palace. In the center of the room was a complex Formation base that had stopped running and was covered in cracks. Next to the base lay several skeletons in ancient clothing that had long since weathered away.

But it wasn’t these that caught Ye Chen’s eye. Instead, in the corner of the room, inside a relatively intact sealed container made of some transparent crystal, floated a fist-sized ball of light that constantly shifted between gray, white, and black, emitting a pure Chaos intent and a faint life fluctuation!

And beneath this ball of light, on the container’s base, was embedded a palm-sized object of the same Origin as the fragment he had previously obtained—but larger and with even more complete and complex patterns: an ancestral rune fragment!

The second ancestral rune fragment!

Ye Chen’s heart began to beat violently, beyond his control!