Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The death shield was shattered from the inside.

The captain of the guard let out a muffled groan and slid back several steps, his crossed arms torn and bleeding.

Xilun gave him no chance to catch his breath.

With a series of rapid steps, Canglang stepped forward, his figure closely following, the Canglei Spear transforming into streaks of blue and white afterimages, crashing down like waves.

The water's force comes first, while the thunder's power lies hidden behind.

It was the essence that Elder Swain had imparted to him that day at Thunder Cliff—making it impossible for the enemy to predict where the lightning strike would land.

The commander of the Imperial Guard was forced to retreat step by step.

Every time he condensed death energy to defend himself, it was torn open by Xilun's water force and then pierced by lightning.

The grayish-blue death aura seemed to be suppressed in the face of the bluish-white lightning.

"impossible……"

The captain of the guard was both shocked and furious.

He was confident in his third-tier extreme realm and his overwhelming death aura, yet he was powerless against a young man's gun.

Outside the fog, none of the extraordinary individuals from the Black King's Palace who were originally prepared to step forward to help dare to move.

What they were seeing was beyond their understanding of what a third-tier being should be.

"Since we can't beat them, let's try another method."

The captain of the guard gritted his teeth, turned around abruptly, ignored Xilun, and lunged at the suspended wooden statue arm.

"You can't reach it with your arm, use this to open the door!"

Xilun's mind raced.

He instantly understood the other party's intention.

Once all six arms are gathered and the deep altar is activated, the Black King's Palace can obtain what it truly desires.

At that point, the dangers lurking throughout this cave will no longer be under his control.

We can't let him succeed.

Xilun's feet suddenly sank, and his Canglang Step exploded to its maximum.

Nine dragons covering the sea formed nine layers of surging energy on his body, and he transformed into an arrow released from a bow, intercepting the wooden arm in front of the guard captain.

Seeing that he was out of options, the captain of the guard simply struck Xilun in the back with his palm.

The palm print, formed from condensed gray-blue death energy, carried a terrifying power that could corrode flesh and blood.

Xilun did not evade the issue.

That was exactly the kind of palm strike he wanted.

Nine dragons covered the sea, forming nine layers of surging energy, and forcefully withstood this palm strike.

The first seven layers of turbulent energy shattered one after another, and the last two layers barely managed to protect the flesh and blood.

A piercing aura of death seeped into his back, and Xilun groaned, his face turning slightly pale.

But he didn't stop.

Using the force of that palm strike, he swung his spear backhand and plunged it deep into the chest of the guard captain.

With this shot, he suppressed nine layers of tidal energy, plus all the thunder energy nurtured by the Thunder Dragon Heart.

"puff--"

A burst of blue-white lightning erupted from behind the captain of the guard.

A bowl-sized hole was ripped open in his chest, and the ashen, deathly aura dissipated like a ruptured water sac.

The captain of the guard looked down in disbelief at the bloody hole in his chest.

"You... risked your life... to get this shot from me..."

"I didn't trade my life for it."

Xilun drew his Thunder Spear and said coldly.

"The Nine Dragons Covering the Sea Formation is impenetrable."

The captain of the guards slowly collapsed.

The death aura completely dissipated, and his skin withered away at a visible rate, eventually turning into a shriveled corpse.

Outside the fog, the extraordinary beings of the Black King's Palace were deathly pale.

Even the captain of the guard is dead.

No one dared to step forward again.

Xilun turned around, gun in hand, his gaze falling on the hook-nosed man.

The eerie smile on the other person's face had vanished, replaced by deep apprehension.

"Your strength shouldn't be at the third tier."

"You talk too much."

Xilun is closing in step by step.

The hook-nosed man was no longer as composed as before. He suddenly forced out all the remaining death energy in his hand, turning it into a gray mist that obscured his vision, and turned to try to escape into the passage.

Elena's silver-gray rope was already waiting there.

The rope burst through the fog and coiled around the hook-nosed man's ankle like a venomous snake.

He fell to the ground.

Xilun pressed a gun into his back.

"At the trade fair, you bought the wooden statue arm and the formula for the bone-forging potion."

Xilun's voice was icy.

"Now, all of you stay."

A man with a hooked nose lay prone amidst a pile of bones, his chest heaving violently.

He knew that there was no way out today.

"You think... getting these things will allow you to figure out where that arm came from?"

He suddenly laughed, a sinister laugh.

"That severed limb... is part of 'He'. The limbs 'He' has lost will eventually return through flesh and blood."

You can suppress it for a while, but not forever. One day, that arm will lead you back to 'His' side...

"Back to where?"

Xilun pressed down with the tip of his spear.

"Sunk at the bottom of the sea..."

The man with the hooked nose stopped abruptly.

A sudden flash of madness appeared in his eyes, and he bit open the poison sac in his mouth.

Black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Xilun's spear pierced his heart, severing his chance to struggle back with the power of death.

The man with the hooked nose twitched twice, then remained completely still.

Xilun crouched down, took out the bone-forging potion formula from his arms, and then wrapped the wooden statue arm, which was floating in mid-air and had now lost its owner, with Xuan Yin coldness before carefully putting it into the isolation box.

The moment the wooden arm was sealed into the box, the black energy in the right arm stirred again, but he suppressed it.

Elena stepped forward, looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, and said softly.

Did you hear his last sentence clearly?

"What...sunken at the bottom of the sea?"

Xilun stood up and turned his gaze to the dark red door.

There were six dents on the door, and blood had pooled together.

The indentation that perfectly matched his right arm was directly opposite his right arm, radiating an indescribable attraction.

Xilun remained silent for a moment.

He slowly raised his right arm and approached the indentation.

"Are you going to open the door?"

Elena gripped her sword tightly.

"Finding out the origin of this arm is the purpose of my trip."

Xilun's voice was soft, but it left no room for argument.

"I have to see for myself what's behind that door."

The moment the right arm approached the depression, black energy burst forth from the skin and, like a living thing, burrowed into the arm-shaped depression.

hum-

The dark red door emitted a low hum.

The six indentations simultaneously lit up with a dark red light.

An extremely ancient and decaying aura seeped out from between the cracks in the door.

The stone gate slowly split open to both sides.

Behind the door was a dark, deep staircase leading downwards.

At the end of the stairs, a faint, dark red halo flickered, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, like the breath of some enormous being.

The moment the stone door opened, a stench of decay assaulted our senses.

Elena instinctively held her breath.

Xilun stood there, stunned.

The black energy in his right arm completely quieted down the moment the door opened.

No more restlessness, no more pulling.

Instead, there is a tranquility that is almost like "returning home".

It was as if this arm had finally returned to where it was supposed to be.

"How are you?"

Elena asked in a low voice.

"Dark Qi, stop causing trouble."

Xilun stretched his right arm, his eyes serious.

"It recognizes this place."

The two exchanged a glance and cautiously stepped onto the stairs.

The steps are very long, and the stone walls on both sides are carved with six-armed, faceless human figures.

Unlike the distorted and bizarre reliefs in the outer passageway, the figures here are solemn, each of their six arms holding a different object, except for the second arm on the right—

It's broken.

At the break, there were dark red patterns that were exactly the same as the black aura on Xilun's right arm.

Xilun stopped and reached out to touch the broken edge.

A faint throbbing sensation came from my fingertips.

A wisp of black energy from his right arm seeped out from his fingertips and gently touched the patterns on the stone wall.

In an instant, a flood of unfamiliar images rushed into his mind.

That was a great war that happened countless years ago.

A colossal, six-armed, faceless statue struggles in the boundless Black Sea.

Thousands of extraordinary beings surrounded it, attacking it relentlessly.

Every time the statue swung its arm, swarms of people turned into a bloody mist.

Ultimately, the statue's second right arm was severed, and it was sealed into the seabed.

But the severed arm did not perish.

It sank to the bottom of the sea, enduring the passage of time, constantly searching for flesh and blood to bear it—

One body after another was eroded and devoured by it, eventually decaying.

Until that night ten years ago.

The scene changes.

Xiren saw a familiar scene—the colonies of the Southern Continent, that blood-stained night…

The scene abruptly ended.

Xilun suddenly opened his eyes, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his breathing was heavy.

"Silon!"

Elena supported him, her expression anxious.

"Your eyes were completely black just now."

It took Xilun a while to calm down.

He finally understood.

The severed limb of the evil god that had merged into his right arm was the second right arm of the sealed six-armed statue.

It has been searching for a home.

During that encounter, through a certain relic, it merged into his body when he was critically injured and on the verge of death.

The reason it didn't devour him was because—

The Storm Bloodline within him just happened to suppress its corrupting power.

No wonder.

Xilun muttered to himself.

"No wonder it was always restless, yet never truly managed to control me."

He looked at the dim, reddish light at the end of the stairs.

"It wants to return to 'He's' side. But 'He' is still sealed in the deeper part of the sea."

Elena was horrified.

"You mean, this cave... isn't a ruin, but one of the battlefields where that statue was sealed away?"

"It is the battlefield where 'His' limbs are besieged and killed."

Xilun nodded.

"The fog outside, the changing paths, the blood-sucking elixir... all these are killing formations set up back then. They were used to trap and kill those who were drawn here by the severed limbs."

"And I was drawn here by the remains."

The two continued downwards.

At the end of the stairs is a spacious, circular stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber, a palm-sized dark red crystal core floats, emitting a halo of light that flickers between bright and dim, like the heartbeat of some being.

Around the crystal core floated numerous ancient jade slips, artifacts, and long-dried corpses.

The corpses all bore dark red markings similar to those on Siron's right arm.

They were all people who, throughout history, were drawn here by severed limbs and ultimately died here.

Xilun's gaze fell on a jade slip emitting a faint light next to the crystal core.

He reached out and took it.

The moment the jade slip was in hand, a message flooded into my mind.

[Soul-Sealing Jade Slip - Limb Suppression Method]

That was the method of suppression left behind by the extraordinary one who sealed the statue back then.

It details how to use one's own strength to construct a "blood lock" to completely seal the evil god's remains within the body, preventing it from becoming agitated, unable to be manipulated, and even... able to draw upon the power contained within the remains.

Xilun was overjoyed.

This was exactly what he wanted to obtain on this trip—how ​​to control the black energy in his right arm.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and, following the instructions on the jade slip, circulated the Xuan Yin Cold Intent and the Thunder Dragon Heart to slowly construct a blood lock in the meridians of his right arm.

The icy chill, like chains, bound the restless black energy layer by layer.

The thunderous force of the Thunder Dragon Heart, like nails, firmly pinned these chains in place.

Half an hour later.

Xilun slowly opened his eyes.

He raised his right arm, clenched it, and then released it.

The black mist stopped surging.

That piercing pull and restlessness completely disappeared.

Instead, there was a docile, dark red power at his disposal.

"It's done."

Xilun breathed a sigh of relief.

The hidden dangers that had been troubling him were finally brought under initial control.

From now on, the black energy in his right arm will no longer be a potential source of trouble, but rather a trump card he can use.

Elena looked at him, her eyes filled with shock.

"You really... have it under control?"

"It's under control for now."

Xilun moved his right arm, looking more relaxed than ever before.

"It wants to go back to 'He,' but now I've locked it up."

"Although I can't master it forever, I can at least use it in its basic form."

He stood up and glanced around the stone chamber.

The floating jade slips, artifacts, and relics left by the deceased throughout history are all now in sight.

"These things were left behind by extraordinary individuals who were drawn here throughout history."

Elena also came to her senses, a fiery glint flashing in her eyes.

"Most of them came for the severed limbs; they must not have been ordinary people. Their belongings..."

The two carefully searched the stone chamber.

Weston had a very good harvest.

Besides the Soul-Sealing Jade Slip, he also obtained several jade slips containing Yin-attribute techniques and physical skills, a damaged but still lightning-infused third-tier dagger, and a large amount of rare materials that could be used to temper flesh and blood.

Among them, what concerned him most were several well-preserved bottles of bone-strengthening potion—which happened to match the formula on the hook-nosed man.

"With these potions, plus the Molten Bone Fire Lotus outside..."

Elena calculated for him, "With your physique at its peak, you can advance quite a bit ahead of schedule."

Xilun nodded and carefully put the materials away.

The original estimate that it would take at least two years to reach the third-tier physical perfection now seems to be within a year.

Finally, his gaze fell on the dark red crystal core in the center of the stone chamber, which was sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

"What is that?"

Elena followed his gaze, her expression changing slightly.

"The aura it emits is of the same origin as the black energy in your right arm."

Xilun remained silent for a moment.

He slowly extended his right arm, approaching the crystal core.

The black energy in his right arm trembled slightly under the restraint of the blood lock, but did not become agitated again.

"It is a wisp of His remaining consciousness."

Based on the information that had just flooded his mind, Xilun made a judgment.

"It was sealed here to pull the limb back into place. Now that I've locked the limb, it can't be pulled anymore."

"Should we destroy it?"

Elena gripped her sword tightly.

Xilun shook his head.

"Destroying it might disturb 'He' deeper in the ocean."

He withdrew his right arm.

"Keeping it around will actually make 'He' think that the limbs are still on their way back to their original position."

"Let's go."

Xilun turned around and cleared out all the valuable items in the stone chamber.

"We've taken what we were entitled to, and clarified what needed to be clarified. We shouldn't stay here any longer."

The two followed the steps back to the cave.

The three Melting Bone Fire Lotuses that Elena retrieved, along with the True Core, the wooden statue arm, the Bone Forging Potion, and the room full of relics, made their harvest far exceed their initial expectations.

Just as the two stepped out of the dark red door...

In the stone chamber behind them, the dark red crystal core, which was sometimes bright and sometimes dim, suddenly flickered violently.

Immediately afterwards, the entire cave began to shake violently.

Gravel fell from the dome.

"It seems to have discovered that the severed limb is locked up."

Xiren's face darkened, and he grabbed Elena and ran back the way he came.

"Is it angry?"

"It's a warning."

"I'm running like this," Xilun said in a deep voice.

"The 'He' deeper in the ocean probably sensed the unusual activity here."

The two passed through the ever-changing misty passage and headed outwards.

The tremors behind him grew more and more intense, and that ancient and terrifying aura surged up like a tide from the depths of the sea, making it almost impossible to breathe.

"quick!"

Xilun protected Elena, stepping to the extreme with his Canglang Step.

As the two finally broke through the stone gate at the bottom of the lake and surfaced, a deep and resonant bell rang out from underwater behind them.

The sound of that bell seemed otherworldly.

Vast and ancient, it carries a chilling and oppressive aura.

Elena surfaced, gasping for breath, and looked back at the calm lake, her face pale.

"That is..."

"His" voice.

Xilun gazed at the bottomless lake, his expression grave.

The blood-stained bandage on his right arm trembled slightly under the sound of the bell.

"We've figured out where the remains came from and we've brought them under control."

Xilun withdrew his gaze, his voice steady.

"But this matter is far from over."

The morning light was faintly visible on the lake.

The otherworldly bell tolling still echoed in Xilun's ears, vast and ancient, like a giant hand gently knocking on his heart across a bottomless lake.

Xilun floated on the surface of the water, the blood lock on his right arm trembling slightly before he forcefully suppressed it.

He didn't have time to savor the oppressive power in the tolling of the bell.

Because the moment he surfaced, seven or eight figures were already reflected in the mist around the lake.

Some stood at the bow of the covered boat, some waded across the water, and some simply lay on the rocks by the lake. All their eyes were fixed on the two people emerging from the center of the lake.

"A lot of people came."

Elena gasped for breath, shook her soaking wet short hair, and gripped her twin swords tightly.

She had just been at the bottom of the lake and was lacking oxygen; her face was still pale and her breathing was uneven.

Xilun glanced at them and immediately understood.

The sound of the bell and the dark red glow emanating from the bottom of the lake had already alerted the various extraordinary individuals guarding the shore of Chenxing, who coveted the underwater cave.

They dared not venture deep into the cave to their deaths, but instead dared to wait for someone to emerge from the cave with an opportunity, then swarm in and reap the benefits.

And he and Elena were precisely the "prey" who returned from the cave laden with their spoils.

"The cave in the middle of the lake is now open!"

A tall, thin man in a black cloak strode across the water, his voice filled with greed, "Brothers, they're carrying something!"

Before the words were even finished, figures from all directions moved simultaneously.

The sounds of rushing air, splashing water, and surging energy instantly turned the calm lake into a turbulent frenzy.

Xilun remained completely calm.

He shielded the still-breathing Elena behind him and strode confidently forward.

This is the battlefield he knows best—water.