Primordial Era: Starting with slaughtering all the gods and Buddhas in the sky

The entire sloping passage was still trembling violently, the wooden planks underfoot cracked under the weight, and flames licked down the beams and pillars overhead, burning the air until it tasted bitter, mixed with the stench of charred wood, blood, and putrid ghosts, making one's lungs feel like they were stuffed with charcoal.

The old man in the prison was pushed forward by him, his hands gripping the cracked edge of the deck tightly, his fingernails filled with black blood.

The prisoners who had just been dragged out of the iron cage had legs as weak as noodles, and they slid down after taking a couple of steps, their eyes filled with lingering fear.

Huang Chen didn't have time to help them all one by one.

He still dragged the broken Soul-Binding Banner in his left hand, which was in a rampage. The banner was bulging and gray-black mist was constantly spewing out, as if countless mouths were crying out inside, making half of his body numb.

"quick!"

Huang Chen kicked away the broken beam blocking his way, sending wood chips and sparks flying everywhere.

"Anyone who lies there waiting to die will be the first one I throw down!"

These words are harsh, but more effective than words of comfort.

The two people in front trembled and scrambled toward the exit.

Just then, another muffled, loud thud came from deep inside the ship.

boom--

The entire Sky-Hunting Flying Boat seemed to have been slammed down by an invisible giant hand, and the hull plunged downwards. Huang Chen slipped, lost his balance, and his arm, which was dragging the Soul-Binding Banner, was almost dislocated.

"Grass!

'

He cursed under his breath, his knee slamming heavily against the bulkhead, the impact sending shivers down his spine.

A ghostly figure seized the opportunity to dart out from the banner and pounce on the slowest woman.

The woman was about thirty years old. Her hair was matted together with blood and grime, half of her face was branded, and the talisman chain on her wrist had just broken, leaving her skin and flesh rotting. When she heard the shriek, she turned around and froze. She didn't even know how to dodge; she could only instinctively cover her head and curl up into a ball.

Huang Chen's eyelids twitched, and he raised his hand to throw a punch.

boom!

His blood and qi exploded, and the force of his fist blasted the soul shadow apart on the spot.

The cold air splashed everywhere, hitting the skin and feeling as cold as ice picks piercing the flesh.

Huang Chen felt a tightness in his chest, and a metallic taste of blood welled up in his throat.

Having fought his way through, first breaking through the furnace, then charging through flying swords and spiritual fire, and then forcibly suppressing the Soul-Binding Banner, his spiritual power was almost depleted, and his blood and qi were churning.

But we can't stop now.

If we stop, we all die.

"What are you looking at? Get up!"

Huang Chen cursed at the woman.

"If you don't move, your soul will be stolen!"

The woman was jolted awake by the scolding. Her lips turned white, and she nodded tremblingly, crawling forward on her hands and feet.

The old man in the prison cell had already climbed to the edge of the cracked hatch. He poked his head out and his face turned pale instantly.

"Below...below is a cliff!"

'

"nonsense!"

Huang Chen dragged the Soul-Binding Banner and caught up, glancing outside.

The airship had completely lost control, its bow pointing downwards as it plummeted into a dark, deep canyon. Poisonous miasma swirled within, a mixture of green fog and gray smoke, occasionally punctuated by flashes of damp, phosphorescent light.

The mountain walls on both sides are jagged and interlocking. The rocks were terrifyingly sharp; if they crashed down along with the airship, they would definitely be smashed into mincemeat.

The wind howled in my ears like the wailing of ghosts, scraping my face until it ached.

What's more troublesome is that the Soul-Binding Banner is almost unable to hold it down.

A constant cracking sound came from inside the flagpole, as if something was moving inside.

Huang Chen looked down and saw that the distorted human faces on the banner were getting more and more swollen, with their eyes rolling back and their mouths wide open, as if they were about to rush out together.

"Damn, they really know how to pick their timing."

'

Huang Chen took a breath of the scorching, foul-smelling air, and with a flick of his right hand, a Wind-Stabilizing Pearl appeared in his palm.

As soon as the bead appeared, it emitted a pale blue halo.

The chaotic airflow around them seemed to be abruptly stopped, and the originally erratic and swirling wind pressure immediately eased a bit, even making the bodies of the prisoners who were lying prone more stable.

The old man in the prison cell's pupils contracted.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to ask Huang Chen where he came from, but seeing Huang Chen's blood-covered and murderous appearance, he swallowed his words.

Huang Chen ignored him.

His mind went blank, and he immediately activated the system.

【Ding!

The host has successfully rescued thirty-seven surviving humans, triggering and completing the side quest: Rescue the Surviving Humans.

[Task Reward: 6000 Merit Points]

】

[Your merit points have increased.]

The moment the cold notification sound rang in his mind, Huang Chen almost burst out laughing.

All that fighting and dying on that wrecked ship wasn't for nothing.

But the next moment, his face darkened again.

The rewards are in my account, but in the current situation, merit points can't save me.

The outer wall of the ship's hull had begun to crack extensively, and firelight poured in through the cracks. The wreckage of the Sky-Hunting Flying Boat, trailing a long plume of black smoke, crashed down, getting closer and closer to the canyon below.

At most, this thing will crash into the mountain in a dozen or so breaths.

Huang Chen looked down at the Soul-Binding Banner in his hand.

Continuing to drag it along won't work.

This thing has lost control and has been impacted by the chaotic flow of spiritual energy; it has gone completely insane.

When it explodes when the airship crashes to the ground, not only will these prisoners be affected, but even he himself will be plagued by the backlash of countless souls.

It has to be destroyed now.

Huang Chen's eyes hardened, and he directly nailed the half-broken banner pole to the deck near the crack. He slapped his left palm on the storage artifact, and the Twelfth Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus (a replica) instantly appeared.

The palm-sized lotus platform rotated, and dark red flames flowed down, enveloping him.

The palm-sized lotus platform rotated, and dark red flames flowed down, enveloping him.

The fire wasn't fierce, but it was terrifyingly malevolent.

The black smoke of the ghostly spirits that had just emerged from the Soul-Binding Banner immediately let out a shrill scream upon touching the Red Lotus Fire Curtain, and shrank back as if branded with a hot iron.

The old man in the prison cell trembled all over as he watched, and his voice changed.

"This, this is..."

"Stop talking nonsense."

'

Huang Chen stepped on the flagpole, his arm muscles tensed, and veins bulged.

"Everyone, stand back!"

'

The rescued people quickly shrank back and squeezed to the other side of the crevice, not daring to breathe loudly.

The woman slumped to the ground, hugging her arms, her eyes red-rimmed, but she bit her lip tightly and didn't cry out.

Huang Chen mobilized his remaining qi and blood, and his fist tightened little by little.

The protective flames of the Karmic Fire Lotus climbed up his arm, dispelling the invading Yin energy, but the backlash was equally fierce, like roasting his bones in a fire.

My skin stung in waves, and my palms were burning and wrinkled.

"Cut it off!"

'

boom!

A punch landed.

The banner pole suddenly bent into an astonishing arc, and the ghostly patterns on its surface burst open inch by inch, spewing out black gas that instantly darkened the nearby firelight.

It's not broken.

Huang Chen's face darkened, and his second punch followed immediately.

boom!

The entire main pole finally cracked with a crisp pop, breaking in half.

In that instant, the resentment accumulated within the Soul-Binding Banner burst forth like a flood, and the gray-black mist, carrying countless twisted soul shadows, almost filled the entire shipping lane.

The piercing screams suddenly assaulted the eardrums, causing a sharp pain in the brain.

The rescued people screamed in agony, clutching their heads and shrinking to the ground, as if countless needles were piercing their consciousness.

Huang Chen was also thrown off balance by the impact, his vision went black, he staggered back two steps, his chest heaved, and he spat a mouthful of blood directly onto the Red Lotus Fire Curtain.

laugh--

The moment the blood touched the surface, the fire intensified dramatically.

The dark red karmic fire suddenly expanded, transforming into a ring of fire that rolled out in all directions.

The billowing black smoke and vengeful spirits were swept away by the fire wave and instantly melted away in large swaths, like snow meeting the blazing sun.

The screams grew sharper and sharper, and the entire hull of the ship trembled, as if countless wronged souls were struggling for their lives in their final moments.

Huang Chen gritted his teeth and held on, his eyes reddened by the firelight.

He knew in his heart that this thing could not be fully digested or fully collected.

All that can be done is to destroy the main pole, break the bindings, and allow the remnant souls that haven't been fully refined to disperse on their own, so they won't continue to be trapped in the evil banner as materials.

"Disperse!"

Huang Chen roared and kicked the remaining half of the flagpole away.

The broken pole struck a crack in the outer wall, flipped over from inside the ship's hull, and plunged into the poisonous miasma below.

The Soul-Binding Banner lost its last support, and the remaining banner surface quickly ignited. Black flames and karmic fire intertwined and swirled together, burning into ashes in mid-air.

The chill in the passageway dissipated almost entirely.

The chilling, tooth-chilling cold was gone, leaving only the scorching heat, thick smoke, and the smell of blood from the spacecraft crash.

Huang Chen took two deep breaths, his vision blurring.

It became.

The Sky-Hunting Flying Boat is almost at the bottom.

The mountain wind blew in from outside, making the sound even sharper and more urgent.

The canyon below was now eerily clear, revealing even the swirling patterns of the poisonous miasma. The distant mountain walls were rapidly enlarging; in a few more breaths, they would crash into the wreckage along with it.

The old man in the prison cell leaned against the broken wall and looked out; his legs went weak.

"It's over..."

"Fuck your mother."

'

Huang Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, put away the Red Lotus with his other hand, and squeezed the Wind-Fixing Pearl tightly.

He glanced at the people around him.

The thirty-odd survivors were all emaciated, bearing marks from chains and black lines left by soul extraction. If they were made to jump, nine out of ten would die.

If you don't jump, you won't have a chance of survival.

Huang Chen's mind was racing.

The airship was falling too violently; the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl could stabilize the turbulence, but it couldn't reduce the overall momentum of the airship. There was no time to use the Sky-Gazing Mirror to calculate the landing point, besides, that thing consumed a lot of energy.

The only thing to gamble on is that the canopy of trees in the poisonous canyon below is dense enough and the miasma is thick enough. In addition, the wind-stabilizing pearl will slightly reduce the wind, so falling in might not result in an immediate death.

Gambling with your life.

We have no choice but to gamble with our lives.

Listen up, everyone!

'

Huang Chen shouted at the top of his lungs.

Everyone looked at him, their eyes filled with fear, confusion, and the emptiness that comes from being driven to the brink of despair.

"In a moment, I'll lead you to jump down through the slit in the hull. Below is a miasma valley. If you fall in, you might survive."

Staying on the ship means certain death.

No one spoke.

The wind was so strong that it felt like even breathing was being blown away.

The woman suddenly spoke, her voice terribly hoarse.

"My benefactor... I... I can't fly."

Huang Chen almost laughed out of anger at those words.

"I don't know how either."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at her.

Are you scared?

The woman's lips trembled, her eyes were full of tears, and her hands slowly clenched the tattered hem of her clothes.

"Afraid."

She whispered.

"But I don't want to go back to the cage."

Huang Chen stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Then jump."

The old man in the prison cell twitched, his voice dry.

"There's poisonous miasma below; falling in means certain death."

"It's better than dying now."

'

Huang Chen walked to the edge of the crevice and glanced outside. The mountain wind made his robes flutter loudly, and the bloodstains were almost dried by the wind.

"It can crawl, protect its head."

You'll be breathing, so don't inhale too much when you land. If anyone's tough enough, we'll meet again at the bottom of the valley.

That's just how people are.

When death is imminent, one no longer has time for wild thoughts.

Huang Chen first pulled the few people who could barely stand to the edge of the crevice, then tore off the broken ropes and tattered canvas, and haphazardly tied their wrists together to prevent them from getting separated after falling.

The movements were rough and the tying was not aesthetically pleasing, but its advantage was speed.

Don't struggle.

'

Huang Chen slapped away a young man who instinctively tried to pull his hand away.

"After you fall, grab any living person you see and don't let go."

'

The young man's face turned pale, but he still nodded.

Huang Chen then tossed the Wind-Fixing Pearl outwards again, and the pearl hung in front of the crack, emitting a bright blue light.

The surrounding turbulence was immediately pulled into a downward-sloping wind, which, while not exactly stable, was at least not as tearing as before.

The ship shook violently again.

A large section of the front deck collapsed with a roar, and flames shot out from the breach, nearly engulfing everyone's faces.

There's no time left.

"Jump!"

Huang Chen kicked the two people at the front of the table down.

The two screams were immediately swallowed up by the wind.

Then came the third, and the fourth.

Some people were so frightened that their legs went weak and they dared not move. Huang Chen didn't waste any words, grabbed them and threw them. Some people screamed as soon as they were pushed out, while others gritted their teeth and fell silently.

When it was the woman's turn, her hands were still trembling.

She glanced at the churning poisonous fog below, then looked at Huang Chen, her eyes filled with panic.

"My benefactor—"

"Close your eyes and protect your head."

Huang Chen grabbed her shoulder.

"After falling, you can catch your breath as long as you can."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed her out of the crevice.

She let out a short cry, and her figure was quickly swallowed up by the thick fog.

The old man in the prison cell was at the back of the line, with one foot half-stepped on the edge of the crack, his entire old face distorted by the wind.

"And you?"

He suddenly asked.

Huang Chen didn't even look at him.

"none of your business.

'

The old man's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't say anything more. He gritted his teeth and jumped down.

In the end, only Huang Chen was left.

The entire Sky-Hunting Flying Boat had begun to disintegrate. The front half crashed into a protruding rock, producing a deafening explosion, and large pieces of wood and iron flew everywhere like a rainstorm. The broken mast grazed past Huang Chen's head, kicking up a string of sparks.

The deck beneath Huang Chen's feet was cracking inch by inch.

He suddenly raised his hand and retrieved the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl.

The next moment, the ground beneath their feet collapsed completely.

Using the force of the collapse, Huang Chen lunged forward and leaped out of the broken ship's hull.

A sudden gust of wind came crashing down on us.

I could hear nothing but the rumbling wind pressure and the huge explosion of the flying boat collapsing above me.

The feeling of weightlessness struck his heart like a hammer blow, making his internal organs feel like they were churning upwards. Huang Chen suppressed his instinctive struggle, protecting his head and face with his arms, his eyes fixed on the ground below.

The Poisonous Mist Canyon is even more terrifying than it appears from the boat.

Layers of mist in shades of dark green, gray-black, and dark purple swirled and rolled endlessly, within which the shadows of enormous vines and twisted ancient trees could be vaguely seen. Occasionally, a few eerie lights would appear in the mist; whether they were poisonous insects or demonic creatures, they scattered in all directions after being startled by the wreckage of the flying ship that had fallen overhead.

Huang Chen's body sank as he entered the first layer of miasma.

A pungent, fishy, ​​and sweet smell immediately filled his nostrils, like rotting flesh soaked in medicinal broth, making his vision sting.

"Damn it, it's poisonous."

He held his breath, his blood and qi surged, and he forcibly sealed his mouth and nose.

Suddenly, a figure tumbled diagonally through the mist ahead—it was the woman from before. Her descent was erratic, and she was about to crash into a protruding rock.

Huang Chen cursed, twisted his waist in mid-air, and reached out to grab it.

Snapped!

His fingertips barely managed to grip her wrist.

The two were suddenly thrown off course as they fell, and Huang Chen's shoulder scraped hard against the rock wall, tearing his clothes and flesh, causing a burning pain.

The woman was pulled into his arms by him, so frightened that she couldn't make a sound, only trembling rapidly.

"Don't move!"

'

Huang Chen growled.

Just then, a section of dark tree canopy suddenly emerged from the thick fog below.

Not just one tree, but a whole patch of them.

Ancient trees grow intertwined in the valley, their branches as thick as animal bones, and vines entwine layer upon layer, forming a natural buffer.

Huang Chen's pupils contracted, and he sharply tapped his toes on a piece of broken plank from a flying boat that had fallen beside him. Using the force, he swerved and crashed straight into the tree canopy, carrying the woman with him.

Click!

The first branch broke.

Then came the second one, and the third one.

Leaves, broken vines, and wood chips rained down on them, making them feel as if they had been thrown from mid-air into a pile of thorns, scraping and bumping all the way. Huang Chen felt dull pains all over his back, arms, and legs, and finally, with a "thud," he fell heavily into a pile of rotting leaves and mud.

The ground was wet and soft, yet the vibrations still made one's bones tingle.

Huang Chen felt a sweet taste in his throat, turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, and it took him a long time to catch his breath.

The woman in his arms lay limp, and after a couple of breaths, she suddenly began to cough violently.

"Cough...cough cough..."

"Don't inhale!"

'

Huang Chen struggled to turn over and pressed her head down.

"Keep your ground down and breathe slowly!"

'

Although the miasma was heavy at the bottom of the valley, it thinned out a bit closer to the muddy ground, and the wind slowed down. The woman did as instructed in her panic, and after choking a few times, she managed not to faint on the spot.

It was dark all around.

Above, the firelight from the crashed spaceship wreckage could still be seen, casting flickering light on the layers of miasma.

The sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground, trees breaking, screams, and coughs coming from afar indicated that not all of the people who jumped down were dead.

The sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground, trees breaking, screams, and coughs coming from afar indicated that not all of the people who jumped down were dead.

Huang Chen lay prone in the mud, his chest heaving violently, his ears ringing.

The hand can still move.

His leg wasn't broken.

Good luck.

He took out a Rejuvenation Pill, hesitated for a moment, then put it back. Instead, he took out a small bottle of water from his storage artifact, drank two mouthfuls, and then handed it to the woman next to him.

"Take a sip, don't drink more."

The woman's hands trembled like a sieve when she took the water.

After she finished drinking, tears finally streamed down her face, mingling with the grime and dirt.

"I...I survived?"

'

Huang Chen propped himself up, wiped the mud and blood off his face, and took a breath.

"temporary."

He looked up and around.

The valley floor was frighteningly dense with trees, thick vines hanging down, and piles of decaying leaves half a foot thick. The air was damp and cold, and poisonous miasma slowly wafted among the tree roots.

From the darkness further away, faint crawling sounds could be heard from time to time, as if something had been drawn there by the smell of blood.

Not far away, a weak cry for help pierced through the miasma, coming intermittently.

"Help...help me..."