System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

176: Xuanwu Secret Realm, Ancestral Symbol ResonanceCold, silent, and boundless darkness.

Consciousness felt like it was sinking into a ten-thousand-fathom deep sea, falling continuously. Ye Chen felt as if he had become a grain of dust, drifting in the turbulence of space-time, unable to feel the existence of his Physical Body, with only waves of weakness and stinging pain coming from the depths of his Soul.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint glimmer of light, like a firefly in the night, pierced through the eternal darkness.

He ”opened” his eyes with difficulty and found that he was not in the foul-smelling esophagus or digestive fluid pool he had expected, but suspended in a strange space.

There was no distinction between heaven and earth here; up, down, left, and right were all void. Countless tiny specks of light, emitting soft white light like dandelion seeds, drifted and bobbed slowly in this void. In the center of the space, there suspended a massive, slowly pulsating... heart phantom composed entirely of pure energy?

No, it wasn’t a heart. It was more like a core, a hub. Countless fine ”blood vessels” made of light extended from this core, connecting to those drifting light specks and forming a vast and profound network. A majestic, heavy energy, carrying endless vitality and the will to protect, flowed slowly through this network.

Was this the interior of the Xuanwu Divine Beast’s corpse? After its death, its remaining will and energy had spontaneously evolved into an independent Secret Realm space?!

Ye Chen looked at the incredible sight before him in shock. He could feel that the energy flowing in this space was pure and gentle, with a powerful healing effect, slowly nourishing his nearly withered Physical Body and Divine Soul. The Chaos Myriad Transformation Art even began to circulate slowly on its own without him needing to actively trigger it, absorbing the energy here and repairing his severe injuries and exhaustion.

He tried to move and found that his Physical Body still existed, but it seemed to have lost its weight, allowing him to float freely in this void. He slowly ”swam” toward that massive core.

The closer he got, the clearer that heavy will to protect became. He seemed to see a Xuanwu Divine Beast that stood between heaven and earth; when the catastrophe arrived, it used its own shell as a barrier to protect the living beings behind it until its strength was exhausted and it died, its will remaining and transforming into this final pure land.

A sense of profound respect arose spontaneously.

Just as he approached within a hundred zhang of the core, another change occurred!

Deep within his Qi Sea, the chaos ancestral talisman, which had fused two fragments, and the withered primal dark god iron beside it actually vibrated violently at the same time! An incredibly strong resonant thought, pointing toward a certain direction of the core, was transmitted to him!

There was something there! Something of the same Origin as the chaos ancestral talisman!

Ye Chen’s heart stirred, and he ”swam” in the direction of the sensation. Rounding the massive energy core, in a relatively quiet corner behind it, he saw a sight that made his heart nearly stop—

A fragment about the size of a washbasin, irregular in shape, with Chaos Qi flowing all over it and countless flickering Innate Dao Runes engraved on its surface!

The third Chaos ancestral rune fragment! And its size far exceeded the two fragments he had obtained before!

It suspended there quietly as if it had been there since ancient times, faintly blending with the power of the entire Xuanwu Secret Realm, yet maintaining its own independence and transcendence. The Chaos charm it emitted was more ancient, purer, and closer to the Origin!

No wonder the chaos ancestral talisman outside would produce such a strong resonance!

Ye Chen suppressed his excitement and slowly approached. He could feel that this fragment and the protective will of the Xuanwu here seemed to have formed a wonderful balance; it did not destroy this Secret Realm but instead seemed to be using the power of the Secret Realm to nourish itself, while its escaping Chaos Qi also fed back into this space, maintaining a subtle cycle.

He reached out his hand, attempting to touch this massive fragment.

At the very moment his fingertip was about to touch the fragment—

”Buzz!”

The entire fragment suddenly erupted with unprecedented Chaos radiance! A torrent of Origin, far more vast and majestic than the previous two Fusions, as if it could open the heavens and create the earth, surged toward Ye Chen like a reversing galaxy!

Simultaneously, the main chaos ancestral talisman and the smaller fragment in his Qi Sea also flew out on their own, producing a strong resonance with this massive fragment. Like long-lost brothers, their light intertwined and their Dao Runes connected as they began to actively undergo Fusion!

”Boom—!!!”

An indescribable and massive flow of information and Origin energy instantly shattered Ye Chen’s mental defenses! He felt as if his Soul had been thrown into an evolving Chaos Universe, with countless Law fragments regarding ”Origin,” ”Evolution,” and ”Ending” flooding into his Sea of Consciousness like exploding stars!

Under the washing of this power, every cell of his Physical Body was undergoing destruction and Rebirth. His Meridians were forcibly widened several times, his bones shimmered with a Chaos-colored luster, and his blood seemed to have galaxies flowing within it! The chaos primordial fetus within his Qi Sea expanded frantically, the patterns on its surface becoming extremely complex, until finally, with a soft ”crack,” the shell of the primordial fetus shattered. A smaller but more solid Chaos vortex, seemingly containing infinite possibilities, replaced the position of the primordial fetus and rotated slowly—the heart of chaos!

Driven by this torrent of Origin, his cultivation broke through the Ninth Layer Earth Fiend Realm Bottleneck with irresistible force and soared all the way! Early Stage of the Ninth Layer... Middle Stage of the Ninth Layer... Peak of the Ninth Layer!

Not until it touched a certain invisible and even more massive Bottleneck did the surging momentum slowly subside. But his power and his essence had already undergone a world-shaking change! At this moment, although he was still within the scope of the Earth Fiend Realm, the quality of his Chaos Gang Qi, the strength of his Divine Sense, and his comprehension of rules far exceeded those of the same rank, and he had even faintly touched the edge of the Tiangang Realm!

The initial Fusion of the three ancestral rune fragments brought an unprecedented transformation!

After an unknown amount of time, the violent torrent of energy finally gradually subsided. The new chaos ancestral talisman (fused from three fragments) suspended above the heart of chaos; its size did not seem to have changed much, but its radiance was restrained, its aura more ancient and vast, and the Dao Runes on its surface seemed to have come to life, constantly appearing and disappearing as they explained the ultimate principles of Chaos.

Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, and visions of the beginning of Chaos and the rotation of galaxies seemed to flash through his pupils. He felt the vast, sea-like, and perfectly harmonious power within his body, and a sense of strength and control he had never felt before filled his heart. His previous severe injuries and exhaustion had long been completely repaired during this Fusion process, and his state had reached an unprecedented Peak!

With a thought, the new chaos ancestral talisman vibrated slightly, and a stream of pure Chaos Qi flowed out, easily enveloping and nourishing the primal dark god iron nearby. The black light on the surface of the divine iron seemed to deepen slightly, and its connection with the ancestral talisman became even closer.

However, just as he was immersed in the joy of his soaring strength and was preparing to attempt the initial refinement of this divine iron, a cold female voice, carrying a hint of surprise and scrutiny, abruptly rang out in this quiet space:

”The aura of Chaos... I didn’t expect to encounter someone with such a Legacy in this fallen land.”

Ye Chen’s entire body jolted, and he suddenly turned his head toward the source of the voice!

On the other side of that massive energy core, at some point, a blurry figure composed of pure white light had appeared. The figure’s specific features could not be seen clearly, only the outline of a woman could be vaguely distinguished; she seemed to be integrated with the entire Secret Realm yet transcended it, emitting an ethereal, sacred, and inviolable aura.

Who was she?! When did she appear?!

Ye Chen’s mind instantly tightened to the limit! He could feel that although this white-light woman was only a phantom, the level of the aura she emitted far exceeded that of the Tiangang Realm Blood-Robed Demon Clan Member Race! It was even deeper and more inscrutable than the will that had awakened in the depths of the Nirvana Demon Palace!

Friend or foe?

”Who is Senior?” Ye Chen forced himself to remain calm, cupped his hands in greeting, and kept his posture very low. In front of such an existence, any disrespect could lead to a fatal disaster.

The white-light woman did not answer. Her ”gaze” seemed to fall on the position of Ye Chen’s Qi Sea (though it was blocked by his Physical Body), as if she could see directly through his essence.

”The initial Fusion of three fragments... the heart of chaos newly formed... quite rare.” Her voice betrayed no emotion, only a high-and-mighty calmness. ”It seems you are the ’Chaos Walker’ of this era.”

Chaos Walker? Ye Chen was puzzled but did not dare to ask more.

”Unfortunately, too weak.” The white-light woman shook her head slightly. ”As you are now, you don’t even have the qualification to know the truth.”

Her gaze turned toward the massive energy core and the surrounding network of light points, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible melancholy: ”Xuanwu... in the end, it also failed to escape that disaster, leaving only this remnant will to guard the final ’Spark’...”

Spark? Does she mean these light points? Ye Chen faintly felt that those light points seemed to contain extremely weak life imprints.

”Since you have received the protection of Xuanwu and carry the Chaos Legacy, you can be considered to have fate with this place.” The phantom of the white-light woman slowly raised her ”hand” and pointed at the energy core. ”The energy here is transformed from Xuanwu’s lifelong cultivation and will, containing the rules of ’Protection,’ ’Heaviness,’ and ’Vitality.’ It will be of great benefit to you in stabilizing the heart of chaos and comprehending the Dao of defense. How much you can absorb depends on your own luck.”

Having said that, her figure began to slowly fade, seemingly about to dissipate.

”Senior!” Ye Chen spoke up hurriedly. ”May I ask how to leave this place? The Demon Race outside...”

”This place is the Xuanwu Inner Landscape World, with its own rules. The Demon Race outside cannot find this place.” The white-light woman’s figure was already mostly blurred, and her voice became ethereal. ”Once you have refined thirty percent of the energy here, the core will naturally open the path to the Gui Xu Sea Eye for you... that is the only way to leave this Ancient Battlefield... take care of yourself...”

As her voice fell, her figure completely dissipated, as if she had never appeared.

Ye Chen stood where he was, his heart surging with waves. Chaos Walker? The truth? Gui Xu Sea Eye? The white-light woman’s words contained too much information.

But he knew that now was not the time to delve deep. The priority was to seize this rare Opportunity and improve his strength!

He looked at the majestic energy core and the endless light points of energy around it, a flash of determination in his eyes.

He sat cross-legged in the air, suspended before the core, and operated the Chaos Myriad Transformation Art with all his might! The new chaos ancestral talisman emitted a powerful suction, like a whale swallowing water, and began to frantically devour and refine the pure Xuanwu energy in this space!

The heart of chaos beat slowly; with every beat, it absorbed a massive amount of energy and became more solid and powerful. His cultivation slowly rose while stabilizing, and his understanding of the rules of ”Protection” and ”Heaviness” became increasingly profound.

Time flowed quietly in this forgotten Secret Realm.