Chapter 545: Judgment of Death, True Godslayer Chen Chu (I)

The laws of heaven and earth were thrown into chaos. In an area where the ground lost its stability, four streaks of blood-red light pierced through the tumult, transforming into four human figures that landed on a meteorite where Chen Chu had once lingered.

"...Finally, we’ve located the Heart of the World."

Akunus' gaze burned as he stared ahead. In his perception, an invisible rift hovered there, accompanied by the trembling of a translucent shard the size of a palm in his hand, as if eager to break free.

The intense vibrations from the shard confirmed to Akunus that the entrance to the Heart of the World was just ahead.

Once he stepped inside and absorbed the remnants of Profound Yellow Qi left behind after the world’s destruction, he could not only restore himself, but also have a chance to return to the innate realm, becoming one of the legendary innate beings.

With such a breakthrough, a few more years of secluded cultivation in the forbidden zone would not only allow him to regain his peak power, but could potentially even push him beyond, advancing to the heavenly-king level.

Such was the terrifying potential of innate lifeforms. Born before heaven and earth, their existence was intrinsically aligned with the world and its natural laws. With minimal cultivation, they could ascend to godhood, wielding formidable power.

This was precisely why Akunus hadn’t sought the help of so-called "allies." If the king-level beings of the Demon Cult Alliance caught wind that this forbidden zone—stretching hundreds of thousands of kilometers—contained Profound Yellow Qi, they would swarm in a frenzy.

In the face of benefits that could propel them forward, alliances and friendships were irrelevant, especially among these self-serving gods of the cult.

Akunus had learned about this by sheer fortune. Years ago, after ambushing the wife of Heavenly King Xuanwu, he had been relentlessly hunted for hundreds of thousands of kilometers. In his desperation, he had fled deep into this forbidden zone, narrowly avoiding capture by traversing it.

During that flight, fate led him to this shard, formed when the Heart of the World shattered.

As its name implied, the Heart of the World was the origin core of a world—a celestial body’s nucleus, existing in another spatial dimension. Within this core resided the intertwined principles of heaven and earth, brimming with primal creation and boundless potential.

Typically, when a world crumbled, its core would collapse and merge into the mythical world. However, for reasons unknown, the Heart of the World persisted after shattering, hidden in the depths of an unknown temporal dimension.

Over half a month ago, while recuperating in a hidden stronghold of the Blood Cult, Akunus had been abruptly jolted awake.

Through the shard’s vibrations, he had sensed that the Heart of the World was surfacing from the depths of spacetime. Ecstatic, he immediately led the Blood Cult’s strongest followers to this location.

"My god," the archbishop, Carola, said respectfully, "the situation inside is uncertain. There might be dangers. Shall I scout ahead?"

Akunus shook his head. "No need. This world has already been devoured by the mythical world, and its core shattered. At most, only traces of Profound Yellow Qi remain. It’s unlikely there are any threats."

The Profound Yellow Qi unique to the Heart of the World was incredibly rare and precious. Yet, for the vast and boundless mythical world, such occurrences were not unheard of; it was only a matter of quantity. After all, the mythical world had consumed countless other worlds.

Akunus’ followers were utterly loyal, having been mentally contaminated and rendered incapable of betrayal. However, when it came to Profound Yellow Qi, caution was paramount. Restoring their innate life could potentially cleanse their spirits and dissolve his control over them.

"Let’s move."

"Yes, my lord."

Guided by the shard, the four transformed into streams of blood-red light and darted into the rift. As soon as they entered, an oppressive weight pressed down upon them from all directions.

Boom!

The weakest among them, a late-stage Eighth Heavenly Realm bishop, crumpled to one knee under the immense pressure. His muscles tore in several places, and his entire body quaked.

Though Chen Chu had absorbed most of the Profound Yellow Qi, weakening the gravity in this space, it still exceeded what ordinary Eighth Heavenly Realm cultivators could endure.

Meanwhile, a beginning-stage Ninth Heavenly Realm follower, along with Akunus and the late-stage Ninth Heavenly Realm Carola, appeared relatively unscathed.

The moment they landed, Akunus’ expression lit up with joy. Ahead of them lay a massive concentration of Profound Yellow Qi, covering an area of a hundred meters. However, his elation turned to shock as he noticed a figure seated cross-legged amid the golden haze.

"How is this possible?" Akunus gasped, his voice trembling. "How can there still be an Innate Demon God within the shattered world's core?"

His followers were equally stunned. There was no mistaking it. Even from ten kilometers away, the aura emanating from the figure was overwhelming, shaking them to their cores. It was too terrifying.

Chen Chu, in his Battle Demon God form, had three faces and six arms. Four divine halos circled behind him, and his presence was suffused with innate energy. He was indistinguishable from the legendary innate deities.

The Profound Yellow Qi surged as the majestic figure slowly rose. Under their watchful and tense gazes, Chen Chu stepped out of the golden haze, exuding a presence that could rival the heavens.

Staring at Akunus, Chen Chu’s eyes flashed with surprise. His deep voice resonated, slow and deliberate. "Akunus... so it’s you."

"You know me? Wait..."

Akunus scrutinized Chen Chu’s face, wreathed in a halo of blood-red light. A flicker of familiarity crossed his mind before shock overtook his expression. "It’s you—Chu Batian!"

In an instant, Akunus’s aura erupted in a violent explosion of blood-red light. His eyes locked onto Chen Chu with seething hatred, radiating a bone-chilling killing intent.

This so-called Innate Demon God... it turned out to be the very genius from the Federation who had thwarted Akunus’s plans, preventing him from reclaiming his power and ultimately leading him to a disastrous ambush by Xuanwu and the others.

That ambush had destroyed Akunus’s true body, shattered his mastery of laws, and demoted him from his once-mighty rank as a mythical king.

This human—this wretched human—was the cause of it all. Today, I must kill him, to banish his soul into the Blood River for eternal torment and force him to endure endless suffering.

Akunus’s voice was cold and venomous, his words nearly spat through gritted teeth. "Kill him."

"Yes, my god," Carola and the other two cultists replied, their expressions fierce. They unleashed the full intensity of their auras—those of Eighth and Ninth Heavenly Realm cultivators—shrouded in blood-red light as they prepared to strike.

"Wait," Chen Chu interjected abruptly.

"What now?" Akunus sneered, mistaking the interruption for a plea for mercy.

Chen Chu’s expression remained calm as he said evenly, "Let me break through first."

Boom!