Chapter 293: A Broken Body in the Ninth Heavenly Realm and an Exhausted Soul

The once majestic Great Heavenly Ghost Shrine had been reduced to ruins, with the ground shattered and buildings ablaze. Chen Chu stood in the center of a pit over ten meters in diameter, surrounded by burning golden flames. His expression was stern, and white waves of steam rippled outward under the pressure of his formidable aura.

It felt as if what stood there was a colossal beast, not a human.

Momokawa Sakura held her katana in the distance. Under this overwhelming pressure, she couldn't help but tremble slightly, her expression one of shock.

The records had mentioned that this person, known as Chu Batian, hailed from the East Xia military and possessed extraordinary talent, reaching the early stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm at a young age. This, however, was far beyond her expectations.

Is he really in the beginning stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm?

His sheer ferocity and overwhelming power were astonishing. Even Yamaki Ryuusuke, who had been in the late stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm and had transformed into his so-called demon god state, had been instantly subdued with a single punch.

As expected of the East Xia Empire, their strength was unparalleled! Even two geniuses under twenty years old possessed such unstoppable combat power.

While Sakura was in shock, Yan Ruoyi, whom she was protecting, stood behind her and remained calm.

On the other side of the pit, Li Daoyi couldn't help but complain. "Bro, can you leave some for me next time? I haven't even had a chance to fight yet."

The flames on Chen Chu gradually extinguished as he retracted his formidable aura. "I had no choice. He tried to break through our encirclement and capture Miss Yan, so I had to kill him."

Ryuusuke’s decision was quite understandable. When his identity had been exposed, Ryuusuke had intended to eliminate the witnesses. However, he soon realized that Li Daoyi, who had thunderbolt abilities and was in the middle stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm, was far too powerful. Any casual strike from Li Daoyi had suppressed him easily.

In situations like this, the best chance for survival was to take Yan Ruoyi hostage. After all, Sakura was only in the late stage of Fourth Heavenly Realm, while Chen Chu was only in the beginning stage of Sixth.

Although Chen Chu's combat power was exceptional—capable of killing his son, who had been in the beginning stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm, with a single punch—he still had limits.

At least, in Ryuusuke’s understanding; he had never encountered anyone in the Sixth Heavenly Realm who could fight across an entire major realm. Being able to fight across a minor realm was already considered genius.

He simply hadn’t expected to fight two opponents who were as tough as steel.

Looking at Ryuusake’s shattered corpse at the bottom of the pit, Li Daoyi mused, "Judging by his appearance, he must have fused with the genes of the Talos Battle Demon Clan from the Purgatory Clan. But what's strange is, where did they get the essence?"

Sakura approached, also puzzled. "That is indeed odd. The records indicate that while this family was known for cultivation, they didn't have permission to enter the mythical world, nor did they run any businesses.

"Over the years, the Yamaki family had mostly kept to themselves, only occasionally showing up at political and business banquets in Dongdu when invited."

"The key might be inside that statue. Let's smash it open and find out," said Chen Chu. Golden light swirled in his hands as he swung them lightly.

Boom!

In an instant, a three-meter-long, crescent-shaped golden blade qi rushed out. It spanned over thirty meters before smashing into the half-collapsed temple, striking the broken Great Heavenly Ghost statue.

Bang!

Under the explosive force of the domineering blade qi, the five-meter-tall statue shattered, as if hit directly by a rocket.

Once in the Fourth Heavenly Realm, cultivators could release blade qi and sword light externally, but the power would only significantly increase after the Fifth Realm. By the Sixth, the external release of fiery true power became incredibly domineering.

However, Chen Chu rarely used such external true power attacks, because they were easier for opponents to dodge and didn't have the same close-range destructive power as the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd. After all, his greatest advantage had always been his formidable physical strength.

Amid the violent storm of shattered stones and rushes of air, a huge, withered arm flew out and crashed on the ground, creating a five-meter-diameter crater upon impact. Over two meters long, it was covered in black scales and had claw-like fingers. Black aura swirled around it, emanating a terrifying pressure.

The intensity of this pressure was so formidable that even Chen Chu's expression changed. "What a strong aura, this is an arm from an Eighth Heavenly Realm... no, a Ninth Realm Purgatory Demon Clan member."

Li Daoyi nodded solemnly. "It must be the Ninth Heavenly Realm. Even after being severed for decades, its aura hasn't dissipated, and its demonic power still lingers. No wonder the transcendent energy in this area was denser and more active compared to other areas.

"At first, I thought it was due to the surrounding trees, but now it seems there was once a rift passage here, and this demon arm must have appeared then. This must be the source of the Yamaki family's demon essence and genes."

Of course, these were just Li Daoyi's speculations. Tracing the origins and tracking down such matters would naturally be handled by the Special Operations Division. However, Chen Chu felt that this explanation was highly plausible and matched the family's behavior over the years.

Upon discovering the demon arm decades ago, they had chosen to hide it. Driven by lust for power, they had privately researched it and extracted its blood to integrate it into their bodies, altering their bloodlines and physiques.

During that time, Ninth Heavenly Realm beings were considered among the strongest. Back then, when there had been no kings, it would be natural for the Yamaki family to make such a choice.

However, they hadn’t anticipated how fast times would change. Human kings soon emerged like bamboo shoots after a rain, and even Ninth Heavenly Realm cultivators became far more common.

In this situation, Ryuusuke, whose physique had been altered by the demon blood, had found himself in an awkward position. Ultimately, he could only choose to endure in silence, cultivate slowly, and rebuild the family, as all other members had died trying to fuse with the demon genes.

Attempting to fuse with the blood of a Ninth Heavenly Realm demon was as difficult as integrating a Colossal Beast's Essence. For ordinary people, trying to absorb it would only lead to death.

This family had actually been very cautious and deeply secretive. They remained unmoved even when facing Yan Ruoyi. After all, killing her wouldn't benefit them at all; instead, it would expose their identity. Even the Demon God Cult didn't know that there was a branch of "demon descendants" here.

Unfortunately, they had encountered Chen Chu. If they had known in advance how unlucky they would be, Yamaki Mikaze would never have accepted Jin Zihua's invitation to greet some important figure.

With the battle over, it was naturally time to loot the bodies. However, the Yamaki family had been too poor, having hidden in the shrine for decades without even any storage equipment.

Because they hadn’t contributed to the Federation, even if they had collected some contribution points on the black market, they wouldn’t be eligible to exchange them for storage equipment, much less resources.

Luckily, the demon arm should fetch a good price, probably no less than 1,000 contribution points. After all, it was the remains of a Ninth Heavenly Realm demon; such remains were of great research and utilization value for the human race.

One of the several satellites that had fallen in the Yunwu Mountains had contained the remains of a high level demon. This was able to trigger a demonic aura that had swept across the mountains, ensuring no enemies could hide.

This kind of equipment was also used in other areas, which was one of the reasons the demon cults had been unable to cause significant trouble for over a decade.

Soon, a fleet of black vehicles and personnel from the inspection department arrived to seal off the area. The situation was handed over to the Special Operations Division, and Chen Chu and his companions left by car.

Back at the hotel, Chen Chu took a shower and then lay down on the bed, shifting his attention to his avatar.

In the enclosed ice crystal palace, the Silver Colossal Dragon lay quietly. The rune between its brows sparkled in silver, and its countless intricate spatial patterns created a manifestation that looked like a 3D silver galaxy suspended in the water. The galaxy slowly rotated, elucidating the mysteries of space to the Thunder Fiery Colossal Beast.

However, the core essence of this innate spatial rune, similar to the power of divine abilities, had already merged with Saixitia's soul. What was displayed now was merely an empty shell. This rune contained only some basic spatial knowledge, representing a specific manifestation of space.

Thus, even if the Thunder Beast fully comprehended it, it wouldn’t mean it had mastered all the mysteries of space, just like how possessing seven major ability runes didn’t mean it could create abilities on its own. Nevertheless, this was more than enough.

Buzz!

Suddenly, the flickering silver galaxy began to destabilize, flashing repeatedly before silently shattering and dispersing into countless white light particles. The Silver Dragon slowly opened its eyes, fatigue evident in them.

Exerting soul power to activate the innate rune was exhausting, even for a colossal dragon.

Roar!

Ao Batian, I can't go on.

The Thunder Beast growled softly.

Roar!

Thank you, Saixitia. I feel that with two more attempts, I should be able to comprehend the basics.

Roar! Two more times, huh? Alright.

The Silver Dragon looked distressed. The feeling of soul exhaustion was unbearable. But as a mighty colossal dragon, it would not go back on its word after agreeing to help the Thunder Beast understand the spatial rune,

Roar! I'll take a nap and come back once my soul power has recovered.

With a low growl, the Silver Dragon closed its eyes, lying down and falling asleep.

Watching the majestic and mystical Silver Dragon before it, the Thunder Beast's eyes revealed a trace of satisfaction. This attempt at understanding the spatial rune had yielded significant results.

However, with the Silver Dragon asleep, it couldn’t just stay idle. With this in mind, the Thunder Beast extended its right claw and began inscribing the force field constraint rune on more of its scales.

Recently, it had been very busy, so busy that, even after breaking through to level 8, it hadn’t had time to go out and devour mutated beasts.

Only after finishing its current tasks would it be able to rush back out to the open sea to hunt level 7 and 8 colossal beasts, accumulate evolution points, and accelerate its growth to break through to level 9 as soon as possible.

***

The next morning, just after Chen Chu finished washing up, he received a message that 315 contribution points had been added to his account.

After official evaluation, the value of the Ninth Heavenly Realm demon's severed arm had dropped significantly due to the essence drying out from long-term storage. The final value was 630 points, split between him and his partner.

“Over 300 contribution points.” Chen Chu looked at his account, which now had 365 points, including the remaining 50 points from before. He put on his glasses and connected to the Celestial Think Tank. After searching through various resources suitable for a Sixth Heavenly Realm cultivator that could rapidly enhance true power, he finally settled on Blue Crystals.

"The delivery address has been refreshed. The current deduction is 360 contribution points. The 12 Blue Crystals you've exchanged for will be delivered in about an hour. Your patience is appreciated."

A higher level than Energy Crystals, Blue Crystals contained extremely pure energy that cultivators could quickly refine and absorb. Back when he had been in Kyrola, Xia Youhui had given Chen Chu a single Blue Crystal. At that time, it had been enough for them to cultivate for two to three months, as they had only been in the Second Heavenly Realm.

Currently, Chen Chu needed to rapidly increase his true power to reach the peak of the Sixth Heavenly Realm as soon as possible, so exchanging for Life Crystals wouldn’t be as useful.

According to Chen Chu's estimation, the twelve Blue Crystals should allow him to break through to the middle stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm within a few days. At that point, his strength would increase a little again. Breaking through to the middle stage of the Sixth Realm wouldn’t significantly enhance his current combat power.

His cultivation realm was already at the peak of the beginning stage, just one step away from the middle stage. After the breakthrough, his true power would be twice as pure, allowing for more sustained explosive power in combat.

After washing up and getting ready, Chen Chu put on his sunglasses and headed to Yan Ruoyi's room. As soon as he opened the door with fingerprint verification, he saw Yan Ruoyi leaning against the sofa, looking pale and weak with mysterious scales appearing on her forehead.

Chen Chu immediately sensed her soul aura weakening. He quickly moved to her side, his expression serious. "Miss Yan, are you okay? Should I notify someone?"

Yan Ruoyi weakly shook her head. "No! No need, I'll be fine soon."

Under Chen Chu's watchful gaze, the feeling of her soul weakening gradually disappeared after about ten minutes. The mysterious scales on her forehead faded, and her complexion became visibly rosy. In an instant, the previously weak and dying Yan Ruoyi appeared normal again, as if nothing had happened.

"I'm fine now." Yan Ruoyi smiled. "This soul weakness comes and goes. Once it's over, I'm okay."

She didn't elaborate on what would happen if she couldn't get through it; that wasn't necessary.

Chen Chu fell silent for a moment. "After reaching the Ninth Heavenly Realm and touching upon the laws, cultivation involves the soul. When breaking through to the king level, the soul undergoes an even more profound transformation.

“For someone as powerful as Heavenly King Xuanwu, this transformation must be even more significant. Could it be that even he can't do anything about this type of injury?"

After a week of getting to know her, Chen Chu deeply admired this confident, generous, and brave girl who faced death without fear. He felt a bit reluctant to see her die like this.

"No way." Yan Ruoyi shook her head slightly. "My injury is different from normal soul damage; I was born with it damaged. It's like a bottle without a bottom. Even though I've used various soul resources over the years, they can't repair this empty hole. They only slow down the loss of my soul.

"But for some reason, my soul hasn't been able to absorb any resources for the last three years. I might have built up a resistance after years of use."

Sitting on the sofa, hugging her knees, Yan Ruoyi softly said, "Actually, being acutely aware of your life constantly slipping away, that you’re approaching death, is very frightening.

"But I'm the daughter of Heavenly King Xuanwu, and I can't disgrace my father. So, for the past few years, I've been encouraging myself, telling myself that even though I’ll die, I'll die standing, with a smile on my face. No one in the Yan family is afraid of death, not my elder brothers and not me..."

As she spoke, determination appeared in her eyes, gradually dispelling the moment of weakness that had arisen. She stood up, full of energy. "Let's go, Brother Chu. Let's have breakfast first, then I need to practice two new songs for the concert in a few days. In my final journey of life, I want the whole world to remember me."

After the elimination of the Yamaki family, nothing significant happened over the next few days. The entire city of Dongdu appeared normal, continuing its usual prosperity.

As Yan Ruoyi's team gradually arrived, everyone became busy, including Chen Chu, who was occupied with absorbing Blue Crystals for cultivation. Only Li Daoyi seemed to have nothing to do.

Or rather, he was quite busy as well—busy adding beautiful women as friends on social media, sending them red packets, and enjoying being called handsome by them.

Meanwhile, Chen Chu's avatar continued to immerse itself in comprehending the spatial rune, making steady progress and nearing complete understanding.