Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 158, 174: The Madman of the End of Dharma, Reaching Perfection of Spiritual Concentration (Bonus Chapter 2627 for Monthly Tickets)

"Hey!"

Emperor Zhaoming plunged his blood-stained fingers into his dantian, forcefully pulling out his yang marrow and a dragon-shaped jade seal.

The moment the jade seal appeared, the runes on the eighteen dragon-locking pillars simultaneously lit up with dazzling light.

"I will use the life force of the third emperor of the Xuan Kingdom as a guide!"

Blood streamed from Zhang Zhaoming's mouth, and he appeared to be insane, yet his voice was unusually clear: "Please, Emperor Taizu, bear witness to the final words of your unworthy descendant!"

"Stop!! Do you really want to be an unfilial descendant?"

Zhong Kui's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly roared, instantly abandoning what he was doing and turning the Hunyuan Spear to stab the emperor.

However, it was too late. The dragon-shaped jade seal, along with the yang marrow, suddenly exploded into a shower of golden dust in Emperor Zhaoming's hand.

The entire Dragon Spirit Cave suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Immediately afterwards, a muffled rumble like thunder came from underground, as if some ferocious beast that had been slumbering since time immemorial was awakening.

"My yang essence!!"

Zhao Wuji, who was hiding in the shadows of the cave, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His spiritual senses were frantically alerting him, and he detected a terrifying aura awakening deep within the earth's veins.

He instinctively made a hand seal to cast an invisibility spell, only to see the eighteen dragon energies on the monitoring compass shatter simultaneously.

This is not an ordinary surge of spiritual energy; rather, the entire dragon vein is self-annihilating.

No, it wasn't even annihilation, but rather a sudden backflow into the earth.

"He still has a trick up his sleeve, kill him quickly!"

Yan Lan shouted sharply, and Hua Qingshuang, Bai Chengshang, and the other two attacked almost simultaneously.

The killing move was aimed directly at the seriously injured Zhong Kui.

"boom!!"

The blazing sun wheel, wreathed in scorching golden flames, crushed Zhong Kui's protective shield, while the frost-covered flying sword transformed into a cold light that pierced through his chest and heart.

The Shadow Sword snapped its neck like a venomous snake!

Before Zhong Kui could even scream, his withered body exploded under the combined attack of the three powerful spirits. Before his limbs even hit the ground, they were burned to dust by the intertwined spiritual power of ice and fire.

"Finally... dead."

Yan Lan retreated barefoot, and before she could finish speaking, the entire grotto suddenly trembled violently!

An ancient dragon roar came from underground, and the chains on the eighteen dragon-locking pillars shattered and scattered in all directions.

The stone dragon at the bottom of the pool burst open, revealing a bottomless, dark cave below.

A decaying and terrifying spiritual pressure surged into the sky like a tsunami, shattering the scattered rocks into dust!

Yan Lan and the others were immediately shaken back by this terrifying spiritual power and energy, and their expressions changed.

At the same time, Zhao Wuji's telepathic message arrived swiftly, "Peak Master, Senior Uncle, retreat quickly! There is extreme danger underground!!"

"Unrestrained!?"

"Why are you here again?!"

Yan Lan and Hua Qingshuang's expressions changed drastically.

"This is... a backlash from the dragon vein?!" Bai Chengshang's expression turned ugly, and he retreated, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

"You bastard!" A deep, aged yet authoritative roar suddenly echoed from the depths of the cave.

The moment the sound rang out, the collapsing dragon vein suddenly froze, the flying rubble hovered in mid-air, and even the overflowing spiritual energy stopped moving.

A dragon claw covered in dragon scales emerged from the ground and grabbed Zhang Zhaoming's body in its claw.

But then they saw the crimson dragon energy at the bottom of the pool swirling into a vortex.

An aged figure, shrouded in chains and black energy, emerged from the ground, slowly lengthening the chains.

Beneath the twelve-tasseled crown, a face as withered as tree bark slowly rose, its turbid pupils flickering with eerie green flames.

With a grasping motion of his five fingers, Zhong Kui's scattered remains were forcibly gathered together, then suddenly collapsed and melted, condensing into a mass of blood that entered his mouth!
A bizarre scene suddenly unfolded: his withered face instantly regained a lot of vitality and even became fuller.

Only his eyes were extremely strange; his left eye was as scorching as the sun, while his right eye was as deep and cold as a frozen pool, completely unlike a human's, filled with vicissitudes and coldness.

"Great-Great Ancestor?!"

Zhang Zhaoming's unfocused pupils suddenly focused, and he stared at the person in front of him in disbelief.

This legendary founding emperor of the Xuan Kingdom, Zhang Sichen, is exactly the same as the one in the ancestral temple portrait, except for his eyes.

"Zhang Sichen?!"

"How could this old monster still be alive?"

Both Hua Qingshuang and Yan Lan's pupils suddenly contracted.

The Supreme Cave Master Bai Chengshang's expression changed drastically. He felt the terrifying spiritual power of this old monster, which made it hard for him to breathe. He began to retreat without making a sound.

"I will not let you leave! Today, none of you will escape!"

Zhang Sichen suddenly spoke in a low voice, extending his palm.

In the instant the five fingers spread wide, the underground dragon veins seem to turn over like an earth dragon.

He suddenly exuded a strong dragon aura, and the chains binding him snapped one by one with a clang.

As if some kind of seal had been broken, the entire Dragon Spirit Cave suddenly trembled, as if a giant dragon that had been sleeping for hundreds of years had suddenly awakened!

"Boom!"

The runes on the eighteen dragon-locking pillars simultaneously erupted with dazzling golden light, and the pillars cracked inch by inch.

Countless streams of dragon energy surged forth from the ground like chains.

In an instant, they intertwined to form a golden dragon totem that blotted out the sky. The dragon's head and whiskers danced, and its golden claws were lifelike. It surrounded Zhang Sichen, and its body completely sealed off all the exits of the cave!
"not good!"

The Supreme Cave Master Bai Chengshang's expression changed drastically. His black robes fluttered, and the Shadow Sword transformed into a black rainbow, slashing towards the nearest exit of the tunnel.

But then the dragon energy coiled up like a living thing, transforming into solid dragon scales.

The sword struck the target with a resounding clang of metal against metal, sparks flying as the blade was forcefully bounced back!

"This is... a dragon vein seal?!"

Hua Qingshuang's icy eyes narrowed sharply, and the white silk from her sleeve shot out like lightning, but froze into ice the instant it touched the dragon's body, and then shattered into pieces with a "crack"!
"break!!"

Yan Lan retreated, and the Flaming Sun Wheel suddenly swelled to three zhang in size, its blazing golden flames crashing into the dragon energy barrier of the opposite passage like a raging torrent.

However, the moment the flames touched the dragon energy barrier, they were like a mud ox entering the sea; the raging flames were completely swallowed up by the dragon energy!
Yan Lan quickly recalled the Blazing Sun Wheel.

Zhao Wuji let out a muffled groan from the shadows, and a formation token in his hand shattered with a "bang".

The array points he had secretly set up were crushed by the power of the dragon vein!
"Senior Uncle! Peak Master!"

He gritted his teeth, the Cold Soul Flying Sword in his sleeve humming and trembling, "The dragon energy has become completely connected with the earth's veins. Unless the entire dragon vein is severed, otherwise..."

Zhao Wuji's heart stirred, and he suddenly took out the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot Diagram given to him by Bai Chengshang.

"Perhaps with this diagram, combined with my formation, I can manipulate the dragon vein to self-destruct and forcibly open the passage?"

"It's no use... Your struggles are futile."

In the passageway, Zhang Sichen's withered face revealed a mocking expression, and his ancient dragon robe fluttered without wind.

He slowly raised his hand, his five fingers hooking towards the void: "This Dragon Spirit Cave is not only my prison, but also my alchemy furnace."

For over a hundred years, to avoid the end of the Dharma, I sealed myself within, swallowing two empresses, the second Zhang Chengyan, and transforming the Linglang Cave Master Cheng Ruiyuan into the second Cave Master Zhong Kui.
It's all part of the plan, to break through to the final step!

He paused, his eyes filled with a weary and cold gaze, "Since you have ruined this situation... then add fuel to the fire for my breakthrough to the Golden Core stage!"

Upon hearing this, all three paled and felt a chill run down their spines. No wonder Cheng Ruiyuan, the former master of Linlang Cave, had disappeared without a trace.

Zhang Sichen lowered his cold eyes, his gaze sweeping over the dying Zhang Zhaoming like a blade, a mocking smile curving his lips: "I granted you the throne so that you could destroy the foundation of my Zhang family's imperial lineage?"

Zhang Zhaoming's pupils trembled violently, and a hoarse, bitter laugh escaped his throat, a laugh filled with endless sorrow and madness: "Hahahaha! I have painstakingly devoted myself for decades, only to break free from the shackles of the Linglang Grotto and restore the true dignity of my Zhang imperial family, but in the end..."

He suddenly looked up, his bloodied teeth grinding together. "This grotto-heaven has always been in the hands of the Great Ancestor! Even that old dog Zhong Kui is nothing more than a puppet under your knees!"

Before he could finish speaking, he roared with bloodshot eyes, "But you devoured my father! Devoured two generations of empresses! How are you any different from a demon?! You are the great ancestor I once knelt and kowtowed to!!"

"absurd!"

Zhang Sichen's sleeves fluttered, and his dragon aura surged like a raging torrent, causing the chains to clang loudly. "Those who achieve great things throughout history, who hasn't trodden mountains of corpses and seas of blood? How much more so in this depleted spiritual world of Dharma decline!?"

He suddenly lowered his voice, a shadow of malice flashing in his eyes, "The law of the jungle is the way of heaven! If I don't devour people, I'll sooner or later become someone else's prey!"

After saying that, he suddenly sneered, a twisted hatred appearing on his withered face: "Do you think I want to lie dormant in this dark and sunless underground? I have been plotting for over a hundred years, controlling two generations of cave masters, all to break free from the shackles that are even more terrifying than the Linglang Cave Heaven!"

He suddenly leaned down, his five fingers, like dragon claws, gripping Zhang Zhaoming's chin. "Do you know that the territory of Xuan Kingdom and its blessed lands are nothing more than a harvest of spiritual rice in the eyes of those great immortal cultivation clans!"

"With my talent, if it weren't for the lack of resources in this Dharma-ending Age, I would have already reached the Golden Core stage!"

"What?" Zhang Zhaoming's unfocused pupils suddenly contracted, and his shattered chest heaved violently, as if he had heard a truth more terrifying than death.

Upon hearing this, Yan Lan and the other two, who were exchanging whispers and pondering how to escape, all changed their expressions drastically.

Especially Bai Chengshang, the master of the Supreme Cave, was filled with deep regret. It turned out that the waters behind the Linglang Cave Heaven, which he had been trying to seize all these years, were actually so deep.

"Is he referring to that mysterious dynasty?"

Zhao Wuji, hidden in the shadows, was shaken to his core, his thoughts flashing like lightning.

In an instant, three blurry and eerie scenes appeared in his mind. They were the mental connections between him and three armored puppets who had infiltrated the mysterious dynasty.

Among them, Gong Yu's figure is the clearest.

Now, they are trapped in a confined space, undergoing some unknown interrogation...

"Damn it!"

Zhao Wuji felt a chill run down his spine; the situation was critical.

He had no time to worry about the puppets and immediately severed the connection, pulling his mind back to reality.

"A century-long plan, ruined by you all... has destroyed my chance to condense the elixir!"

Zhang Sichen laughed in anger, his eyes surging with killing intent as if it were a tangible thing, his dragon aura boiling around him, and the pressure of his Great Perfection of the Concentration Realm suddenly erupted, causing the entire cave to tremble!

"You unfilial descendant, you deserve to die! Let me devour you and turn you into my power."

With a fierce shout, his dragon claw suddenly tore Zhang Zhaoming's body in two, and a large amount of blood had not yet spread.

One section of his body turned into blood and flowed into his wide-open mouth, causing his aura to surge once again.

boom! ! ——

"Stop him! Otherwise, we'll all be doomed today!"

Yan Lan let out a sharp shout, and the Flaming Sun Wheel in front of her suddenly spun wildly, transforming into a hundred-foot-long fiery lotus that bloomed angrily. The blazing golden flames poured down like a celestial river, rushing straight to capture Zhang Zhaoming's spiritual dragon claw!
Hua Qingshuang's icy eyes were like blades. With a flick of her sword finger, the Frost Flying Sword suddenly stopped, and a Xuanbing Sword Lotus bloomed at the tip of the sword. The lotus petals were like blades, and as it spun, it shot out thousands of ice crystal sword energies!
"boom!!"

The ice lotus burst open, and a wave of cold air swept through.

Zhang Sichen's dragon energy barrier froze instantly, ice crystals coiling around him like chains, sealing off his power, and his figure stiffened for a moment.

"Chance!!"

Although Bai Chengshang was horrified, he knew that he had no choice but to fight desperately. Suddenly, the Shadow Sword split into nine pitch-black sword rainbows, the sword blades wrapped with bone-corroding poison, and stabbed towards Zhang Sichen's back!

"The ants shake the tree!"

Zhang Sichen sneered, and with a hand seal, the giant dragon claw merged into a fist, blasting apart the layers of flames attacking from the blazing sun wheel.

With a scream, Zhang Zhaoming's remaining upper body shattered, his fur and skin nearly charred, and was instantly sent flying towards the stone wall behind him as the dragon claw disintegrated.

"laugh--!"

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The Shadow Sword barely managed to break through the dragon aura totem protecting Zhang Sichen's body. When the poisonous sword energy touched the true dragon armor, it actually corroded it and produced wisps of black smoke.

Zhang Sichen frowned. His protective dragon aura was briefly weakened, but at this moment, his icy sword aura had also weakened.

"Die!!" Yan Lan roared, striking the Flaming Sun Wheel once more.

"Real dragon!"

Zhang Sichen extended his left arm, and the True Dragon Sword flew out from the storage bag at his waist.

The sword's blade resembles a golden dragon coiled around it, with dragon energy and spiritual power merging together. A single strike from the sword produces a dragon's roar that shakes the world!
"clang!!"

The True Dragon Sword and the Blazing Sun Wheel collided violently, and the Fire Lotus shattered instantly!

Yan Lan grunted and staggered backward, the fire patterns on the soles of her feet bursting, and the Blazing Sun Wheel flew backward with a mournful cry, a hideous crack being slashed into the wheel!
"Sister, be careful!"

Hua Qingshuang shouted, and the Frost Flying Sword suddenly closed its blades, shooting towards Zhang Sichen's eyes like a thousand arrows.

"Little tricks!"

Zhang Sichen loosely clenched his right palm.

The first-generation dragon seal suddenly flew out, soaring into the air, and the four characters "Received the Mandate of Heaven" on the seal burst forth with dazzling golden light.

The dragon's energy formed a barrier, and the frost blade froze into ice crystals the moment it touched it, before shattering with a "crack"!
He struck out with his palm in the backhand.

The dragon's energy condensed into a ten-zhang-long giant claw, slamming Hua Qingshuang and her sword into the rock wall!
"Pfft!!" Blood spilled from Hua Qingshuang's lips, the cold jade pendant shattered, and the protective ice mist was pierced by a single palm strike, staining her white clothes with blood!

"Old monster, die!!"

Bai Chengshang's nine ghostly sword rainbows had already arrived.

Suddenly, Zhang Sichen's True Dragon Armor lit up, its plates arranged like scales, and the dragon energy circulated, deflecting all the poisonous sword energy.

"Supreme Cave Master? Nothing but a rat!"

Zhang Sichen sneered, and the Dragon Seal suddenly grew larger, like a hill crashing down!
"Boom!"

Bai Chengshang hastily summoned the Xuan Tian Seal as well.

However, the moment the two seals collided, the Xuan Tian Seal wailed, trembled, and shattered, as if it had been crushed by Mount Tai.

"what!!"

Bai Chengshang's black robe shattered instantly, and he was smashed three feet into the ground, bleeding from his seven orifices.

"Perfected Concentration Realm... he's this strong!?"

Yan Lan wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, exchanged a glance with Hua Qingshuang, and both saw the horror in each other's eyes.

The three-person combined attack was easily thwarted by the opponent!
Just then, a cold, sharp voice transmission pierced Yan Lan and Hua Qingshuang's consciousness like a sharp blade.

"Two peak masters, once I use the formation in conjunction with the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot Diagram to sever the dragon vein, it will surely disrupt his energy. The opportunity will be fleeting, so you must go all out!"

Zhao Wuji's voice was deep and precise, as if he had already calculated every step.

The next instant, the same telepathic message suddenly exploded in Bai Chengshang's mind.

"Zhao Wuji?!"

The Supreme Cave Master was taken aback at first, then his bloodshot eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"I didn't expect that your number one spy would also come!"

What was even more unexpected was that the other party also had a fragment of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot Map!

"Good! Good!"

Bai Chengshang was overjoyed. The situation, which had been almost hopeless, now had a glimmer of hope. He couldn't help but mobilize the spiritual power in his dantian to cast a spell again!

boom! ——

Dragon Qi Transforms into Form: Nine Dragons Devour the Heavens!

Just then, Zhang Sichen suddenly made a hand seal, and the True Dragon Sword soared into the sky.

Nine hundred-foot-long dragon shadows split off from the sword, each with distinct scales and claws, and its eyes burning with eerie green flames.

As the dragon's shadow surged, the entire grotto transformed into a cage, its dragon energy sealing off all escape techniques!
At that very moment, Zhao Wuji, who was lurking in the shadows, suddenly activated the array.

The thirty-six array flags hidden around the cave suddenly contracted in the formation of the Nine-Bend Yellow Sand Array.

Each line wriggles like a living snake, resembling an earth dragon churning, forming a strange array of patterns.

Rumbling!

The moment the array patterns contracted, the ground suddenly collapsed like quicksand.

The once-hard rock crumbled inch by inch, turning into rolling yellow sand, as if the entire grotto had been dragged into the abyss of the sand sea!

"Catch the dragon!"

The fragment of the Earth Vein Spirit Pivot Map that Zhao Wuji had just refined ignited with spiritual light.

The incomplete dragon vein trajectory in the picture was completed in the flames, transforming into a roaring phantom dragon shape, perfectly synchronized with the pulse of the real dragon vein underground.

"Who!?" Zhang Sichen roared like a dragon's cry from the heavens. His powerful and fierce divine sense instantly searched and locked onto Zhao Wuji, who was hiding in the shadows. His divine sense power then surged forth.

boom! !

Zhao Wuji felt a jolt in his head, his consciousness went black, and the protection constructed by the Dream Marriage Technique in his mind and sea of ​​consciousness was broken through almost instantly.

He bit his tongue to force himself to stay awake.

He spat a mouthful of his heart's blood onto the scroll.

The moment the blood droplet touched the spiritual flame on the diagram, it exploded into countless golden and red threads, forming the "spiritual pivot meridian" from which the dragon vein was forcibly extracted!
"The earth's veins are reversed, and the dragon's energy is severed! Open it up!"

At Zhao Wuji's command, the entire underground of the grotto seemed to be torn apart by a giant beast.

At the base of the eighteen dragon-locking pillars, yellow sand clung to them like living things, and the runes on the pillars shattered one after another, forcibly severing the dragon energy.

Zhang Sichen immediately let out a thunderous roar, and the totem formed by the dragon energy gathered all over his body suddenly flowed backward.

His dragon armor peeled off piece by piece, revealing golden cracks beneath his bare skin. In particular, the spine on his back looked like a dragon's spine had cracked, a clear sign of the dragon vein's backlash.

"Chance!!"

Hua Qingshuang, Yan Lan, and Bai Chengshang all suddenly appeared.
(End of this chapter)