System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

184: Shadow Clash, The Secret of the Ancestral SymbolA hint of annoyance flashed through the Ghost-masked Man’s triangular eyes, but it was mostly replaced by greed and caution. He could feel the terrifying Sword Intent on Ye Chen’s body that had just undergone a transformation and had not yet been fully restrained, especially the faint black glow circulating at the edges of the Sword Intent, which made even his Divine Soul feel a prickling pain.

”Arrogant!” The Ghost-masked Man let out a raspy low growl, his figure flickering like a ghost, instantly transforming into three afterimages that were hard to distinguish from the real one, pouncing towards Ye Chen from different angles! At the same time, his hands flicked repeatedly, and countless fine, poisonous needles shimmering with a faint blue luster, like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, enveloped Ye Chen’s major acupoints! — Thousand Phantom Poison Shadow Needles!

This was his famous ultimate technique, where the virtual and real were intertwined. The poison needles were specifically designed to break through Protective Aura and corrode the Divine Soul, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Facing this attack where it was hard to tell the real from the fake and the sky full of poisonous needles, Ye Chen’s eyes remained calm, even carrying a hint of scrutiny. He had just comprehended a trace of the Law of Severance and needed actual combat to temper and refine the Fusion.

He did not use a large-scale sword domain, but simply thrust the guixu sword forward.

This thrust did not point towards any of the afterimages, nor did it block the poison needles; instead, it pierced towards a certain point in the seemingly empty Void Realm between the three afterimages!

At the tip of the sword, that trace of black glow flickered slightly.

”Chila—!”

It was as if an invisible piece of cloth was forcibly torn! The three pouncing afterimages and the poison needles shooting across the sky all came to a halt the moment Ye Chen’s sword tip struck that spot in the Void Realm! It was as if the connection between them and the caster had been forcibly ”severed” by this sword!

The afterimages became blurred and dissipated, and the poison needles lost their accuracy and power, becoming disorganized!

”What?!” The Ghost-masked Man’s true body manifested, his eyes filled with disbelief! His Thousand Phantom Poison Shadow Needles had actually been broken so easily?! What kind of strange Sword Intent did the opponent have?!

Just as his mind was shaken, Ye Chen’s sword moved!

The guixu sword changed from a thrust to a slash, and a condensed gray sword qi with a black glow at its edges swept out like a crescent moon! The speed of the sword qi was not fast, but it carried a strange rhythm of being ”destined to be struck,” as if it had locked onto space and Karma!

The Ghost-masked Man was scared out of his wits and desperately pushed his movement technique to dodge, but he felt as if the space around him had turned into thick glue, making his movements exceptionally difficult! He could only watch helplessly as that gray arc of death expanded in his pupils!

”No!! I am a Deacon of the Shadow Hall, if you kill me...” He let out a desperate roar, trying to use his background to intimidate.

However, Ye Chen’s sword did not pause for a moment.

”Puchi!”

The sword qi swept past, and the Ghost-masked Man’s Demonic Astral Power was easily cut through as if it didn’t exist. The ghost mask on his face, along with the head beneath it, was neatly split in two! The cut was as smooth as a mirror, with no blood flowing out; all life was completely annihilated the moment it touched the sword qi by that ultimate intent of Severance and return to silence!

The corpse fell to the ground and quickly turned into a pool of foul-smelling black water, and even the Divine Soul failed to escape.

Ye Chen stood with his sword retracted, feeling the lingering charm of that strike. After merging with the fragment of the Law of Severance, the power of the Guixu Sword Intent had increased by more than just a level. Against a Cultivator of the same level, it was now a complete crushing victory.

”Shadow Hall?” He noted the name; it seemed he was not the only outsider in this Heavens Battlefield.

He quickly cleaned up the battlefield and found a black ring of special material from the pool of black water, which was likely the Ghost-masked Man’s storage Magical Artifact. Wiping away the Divine Sense mark on it (which wasn’t strong), his Divine Sense probed inside; the space was quite large, filled with many Demon Origin Stones, Medicinal Pills, Materials, and several Jade Slips recording Cultivation Techniques and information.

One of the Jade Slips recorded basic information about the outer regions of the Heavens Battlefield, including several known and relatively safe temporary gathering points, as well as some dangerous areas and powerful beings to avoid. Another Jade Slip was a bounty list, listing many names and portraits with huge bounties marked behind them; Ye Chen even saw several existences on it whose auras clearly exceeded the Tiangang Realm!

”Hunter... or the hunted?” Ye Chen’s eyes flickered. This Heavens Battlefield was indeed more complex than he had imagined.

He put away the useful items and was about to leave this place of trouble when the chaos ancestral talisman in his Qi Sea once again sent out a deeper, more obscure fluctuation! This time, it did not point to a specific direction, but rather a kind of... resonance? Or rather, a suppressed feeling of longing for completeness?

At the same time, in his mind, the more complex phantom of the chaos ancestral talisman, formed by the Fusion of three fragments, vibrated slightly, transmitting some older and more fragmented information:

”Fragments... scattered... heavens...”

”Core... Gui Xu... Sea Eye...”

”Mission... prevent... return to silence...”

”key... collect... then see... reality...”

The information was intermittent, like a candle in the wind, but it shook Ye Chen’s mind!

The chaos ancestral talisman was not complete! There were more fragments scattered throughout these Myriad Realms of the Heavens! And collecting all the fragments seemed to be the key to dealing with the so-called return to silence! It might even involve some kind of ultimate reality!

And the Gui Xu Sea Eye... he remembered the name mentioned by the Woman of White Light when he left the Lower Realm. Could that be where the core of the chaos ancestral talisman was located? Or was it a necessary path to the core?

An unprecedented sense of pressure and mission quietly rose in his heart. Originally, he only wanted to increase his strength and find a way home. But now, the Legacy of the chaos ancestral talisman seemed to have drawn him into a grander and more dangerous whirlpool.

”return to silence... reality...” he murmured to himself, his eyes gradually becoming firm. Since he had obtained this chaos ancestral talisman and accepted this Karma, he would go on and see! See what kind of secrets were hidden behind these Myriad Realms of the Heavens!

He no longer stayed, choosing the direction of Meteorite Slope, the closest temporary gathering point mentioned in the Jade Slip, and his figure turned into a stream of light, speeding away.

Along the way, he became more cautious. The Heavens Battlefield was full of dangers, not only various residual terrifying Restrictions and wandering battlefield Fiend Souls, but also outsider hunters like the Ghost-masked Man. Relying on his powerful Divine Sense and the chaos ancestral talisman’s keen perception of danger, he avoided dangerous places several times in advance.

Several hours later, a relatively flat slope appeared ahead. Above the slope, several broken star remains burning with faint flames floated, providing a bit of light. On the slope, there were scattered simple stone houses, tents, and even some residences modified directly from huge corpses or warship wrecks. Some figures moved through them, with varying strengths of aura, but the lowest was at the Earth Fiend Realm, and Tiangang Realm auras were not uncommon.

This was Meteorite Slope, a small gathering point on the periphery of the Heavens Battlefield.

Ye Chen restrained his aura, suppressing his cultivation to around the Eighth Layer Earth Fiend Realm, and blended into the crowd. There was no clear order in the gathering point, but it maintained a fragile balance; no one dared to act easily here because no one knew if a terrifying existence stood behind a seemingly ordinary Cultivator.

He found a relatively quiet corner and sat cross-legged, his Divine Sense quietly spreading out to collect information.

The conversations of the surrounding Cultivators mostly revolved around exploration, hunting, and trading.

”...The ’Weeping Blood Valley’ to the east has had a Fiend Soul riot recently; I heard someone found a damaged Spirit Treasure!”

”’Black Wind Region’ over there has unstable space; it swallowed another team of people trying to cross yesterday...”

”People from the Shadow Hall and Holy Light Court are at it again near ’Soul-Severing Ravine’, fighting over a Law Source Crystal...”

”The Ten Thousand Realms Merchant Guild’s flying boat will arrive in three days; I wonder what good things it will bring this time...”

The information was complex, but Ye Chen keenly captured several keywords: Shadow Hall, Holy Light Court, Ten Thousand Realms Merchant Guild, Law Source Crystal.

He had just dealt with the Shadow Hall, and the Holy Light Court sounded like an opposing force. The Ten Thousand Realms Merchant Guild seemed to be an organization that traded across the Heavens Battlefield. And the Law Source Crystal was a crystal containing pure Law power, which was of great benefit for comprehending rules and was worth a fortune.

His heart stirred. Perhaps he could use this Ten Thousand Realms Merchant Guild to inquire about other fragments of the chaos ancestral talisman or news of the Gui Xu Sea Eye.

Just as he was thinking, a powerful and cold Divine Sense, like an invisible broom, slowly swept across the entire Meteorite Slope. This Divine Sense carried a high-and-mighty sense of scrutiny, and its intensity had actually reached the Middle Stage of the Tiangang Realm!

The noise in the gathering point instantly dropped significantly, and many Cultivators showed expressions of awe or tension.

Ye Chen also felt a chill in his heart and restrained his aura even deeper.

The Divine Sense swept past without lingering on any one person for too long, appearing to be just a routine check. After a moment, the Divine Sense receded like a tide.

”It’s someone from the Sky Patrol Guard...” a Cultivator nearby whispered, ”It seems things are going to be unsettled again...”

Sky Patrol Guard? Ye Chen noted the name.

He no longer lingered, getting up and walking towards the center of the gathering point, the relatively busiest trading area. He needed to get more information quickly and find a way to reach the Gui Xu Sea Eye or obtain Law Source Crystals.

The trading area was crowded with people, and all sorts of strange items were placed on the ground or simple stalls. There were Ores shimmering with various colors, Spiritual Plants emitting a rich medicinal fragrance, broken but still powerfully vibrating weapons and armor, and even some Sealed, strangely shaped creatures or Souls.

Ye Chen’s gaze swept over; most of the items did not interest him. His goal was clear—information, and things that might be beneficial to the chaos ancestral talisman or his own cultivation.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous stall. The stall owner was a figure shrouded in a wide black robe, their face hidden and their aura obscure. Only three items were placed on the stall: a rusty metal fragment, a withered plant like charcoal, and a black ancient book with a damaged cover and unknown material.

And what drew Ye Chen’s gaze was precisely that black ancient book. On the cover of the ancient book, two blurred characters were written in an extremely ancient script that was somewhat similar to the Dao patterns of the chaos ancestral talisman.

Although he did not recognize this script, the moment the chaos ancestral talisman came into contact with the aura of the ancient book, it actually sent out a very weak resonance carrying a sense of confirmation!