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

Outside the Firewood Shelter, the lingering dampness of the night had not yet dissipated.

A mountain breeze swept in from the valley entrance, carrying the bitter smell of grass and wood, and the faint scent of embers from the hearth. Below the high slope, rows of newly built wooden sheds lined the mountainside, their roofs weighed down with stones and animal hides, and a faint yellow light shone through the cracks.

Occasionally someone coughs, and a child wakes up from a dream with a short cry, which is then quickly covered by an adult who soothes the child in a low voice.

Huang Chen stood on the slope and glanced back.

The journey back from the Valley of Bones and Blood took a full night and half a day. Nearly a hundred people, just dragged out of the prison, had rotten soles on their feet, some still bearing lock marks, and some collapsed as they walked.

Huang Chen did not return to Blood Valley to finish them off, nor did he turn back to loot. Instead, he led his men along the most dangerous and narrowest mountain path, leaving the dead zone of Blood Valley far behind.

He still had a dull ache in his chest and abdomen at that time.

After his fierce battle with those ferocious beasts from Blood Valley, his blood was churning, and his bones felt like they'd been hammered. But he didn't stop.

If it stops, people will die.

It wasn't until they stepped into the outer mist of the Flame of Life and saw the array of light curtains rising and falling deep within the mist that someone in the group actually cried out.

The crying had been suppressed for too long; it was muffled at first, but then it could no longer be contained, like a turbid spring suddenly gushing from a crack in a rock—hoarse, piercing, yet vividly real.

Two days have passed.

The shelter gradually stabilized.

Early morning, in front of the stone platform at the center of the formation.

Huang Chen sat cross-legged, wearing only a dark short robe, with bandages wrapped around his chest and arms. The smell of medicine mixed with the bitter aroma of brewed medicinal herbs wafted slowly through the cave.

The stone platform is surrounded by a ring of spirit stones, which shimmer with a faint light, as if a very fine stream of water is slowly crawling through the stone's texture.

His injury has stabilized by 70%.

The remaining 30% cannot be immediately eliminated by taking a few pills. In particular, the hidden pain left over from the forced activation of the battle body is not noticeable under normal circumstances, but when the blood and qi circulate quickly, a dull thud will rise from deep within the muscles and bones.

Huang Chen closed his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

The next moment, the system panel unfolded before his eyes.

[Host: Huang Chen]

[Realm Level: Early Stage Earth Immortal]

[Battle Body: Intermediate Witch Clan Battle Body (Further Completed)]

[Karma: Over 13,700]

[Merit: Over 6,200]

[Supernatural Abilities: Concealing Breath Technique, Blood Fiend Sensing]

Huang Chen stared at the words "early stage of Earth Immortal" for a few breaths.

It's different from before.

Once you truly reach this level, the most noticeable change isn't how much your strength has increased, nor how ruthless your killing moves have become, but rather how your "perception" has been suddenly expanded.

He could detect any unusual activity in the mountain's windy spots, any misfires in a valley's fire pit, or subtle ripples of spiritual energy at the edge of the formation with a mere focus of his mind.

It felt like the world had been seen through a crack in a door, and now the door had been kicked open, revealing countless textures that were previously intangible.

Huang Chen raised his hand and pressed his temples.

This doesn't feel bad.

It's also more tiring.

Because the more visible things there are, the more troubles follow.

Footsteps came from the stone path behind, heavy and steady, with a soft metallic scraping sound.

Huang Chen didn't turn around.

"You finished it?"

'

"What a load of crap, all you've got is a facade."

Old Tie walked over, cursing and swearing. His face was covered in soot, his beard was covered in tiny iron filings, and there were several new burns on the back of his hands.

He placed a piece of curved metal that had been cut off to the side, making a crisp "clang" sound.

"Those fragments of the flying boat are really hard to dismantle."

That outer shell is much harder than any refined iron I've ever seen before; it made my hand go numb from hitting it. You know, those bastards from the Xuantian Sect are really willing to spend money using this thing to capture people.

'

Huang Chen glanced at the metal plate.

The edges were polished, and the inner layer was engraved with faint patterns, resembling the loop of some kind of incomplete magical artifact.

"Can it be used?"

"Yes, but it will take some effort."

"Old Tie squatted down, scratched his messy hair, and said, "I did as you said and took apart a few complete skeleton pieces to prepare for the trial production of a heavy crossbow. The crossbow mount on the airship is too big to move as is, so I took a smaller one to keep as a base."

And those soul-patterned armor plates, they can be pieced together too.

He grinned as he said this.

"Protect the heart, neck, and ribs; equip the patrolmen with these first. If they really encounter demon soldiers rushing at them, at least they won't be ripped through with a single claw."

'

Huang Chen nodded.

Where are the manpower?

'

"Among the newly recruited miners, three used to do odd jobs in the mine's iron shed. They knew how to operate the furnace, operate the bellows, and repair some rough tools. Now they are learning from them."

Old Tie paused, then lowered his voice, "There are too many people in the shelter, and food and medicine are running low. At the current rate, we can last for a while, but it will be troublesome in the long run."

'

Huang Chen hummed in agreement, his gaze returning to the array's core.

The mountains are not a paradise.

The more people we save, the brighter the flame of hope will shine. Providing food, clothing, shelter, and protection—none of these tasks will be easy.

He can create a gap by killing alone, but he can't destroy the real foundation.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Lao Tie added, "There's something else."

Of the people you rescued yesterday, two old men kept saying they wanted to see you. One was a stone carrier in the mine, and the other was the old man who had been imprisoned the longest in the cell.

They said there was terrible news.

Huang Chen looked up.

Where are they now?

"I told them to wait in the side cave."

"If you want to see him, I'll go and fetch him."

"bring.

'

Old Tie got up, dusted off his trousers, and turned to leave. After a few steps, he turned back and grinned at Huang Chen: "By the way, the master told A Shi to keep the medicine warm."

Don't forget to drink it again later.

Huang Chen glanced at him.

The old buddy chuckled and slipped away quickly.

Not long after, the two people were brought in.

One was as thin as a stick, with slumped shoulders, unsteady steps, and old scars from iron chains still visible on his ankles; the other had gray hair, a severely hunched back, loose skin on his face, and sunken eyes, like a piece of old wood about to burn out.

As soon as the two entered the stone hall at the center of the formation, they knelt down before Huang Chen.

The movement was too hasty, and his knee slammed onto the stone ground with a clear, dull thud.

"grown ups.

'

"Your Excellency saved my life. I will remember this humble life of yours."

Huang Chen raised his hand.

"Stand up and speak."

The miner, supporting himself on the ground, got halfway up, but then swayed because his legs were weak.

The old man clicked his tongue from behind, reached out and lifted the person up, then shoved him onto a stone bench next to him.

The old man in the prison cell took a few breaths, first cupped his hands, and then said in a low voice, "Sir, my surname is Zhou."

Names are worthless, and nobody calls them that anymore these days. If it weren't for the adults breaking through the valley a few days ago, most of us would probably be in that blood pool.

'

Huang Chen ignored the nonsense and asked directly, "What are you trying to say?"

The two exchanged a glance.

In the end, it was the miner who spoke first.

"My lord, I used to work in the outermost mines of the White Bone Blood Valley instead of the deepest part of the valley. I used to mine Blood Spirit Ore."

Later, the mine collapsed, killing more than a dozen people. Fearing accountability from their superiors, the foreman dragged the few survivors to the underground cave behind the mountain to fill the gaps. I overheard people from the Xuantian Sect talking there.

'

When he spoke, his throat tightened, as if each word was stuck with sand or gravel.

"They mentioned a place called... the Cave of Ten Thousand Souls."

'

Huang Chen's eyelids twitched.

"continue.

'

"That place isn't in Blood Valley," the miner licked his cracked lips. "It's on the ancestral mountain of the Xuan Tian Sect, below the Ancestral Hall."

We miners aren't qualified to go in. We only know that some of the soul materials refined in Blood Valley and the vengeful souls of humans captured there will eventually be sent there. The overseer said that place is the lifeblood of the sect, and even the elders are not allowed to approach it casually.

'

An elderly man in the cell nearby took over the conversation, his voice even hoarser.

"I've heard about this before."

It wasn't just once or twice.

He looked up, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

"When I was young, I worked as a servant outside the Xuantian Sect's mountain gate for a few years. Later, I was accused of theft and thrown into prison, where I was imprisoned for almost twenty years. At that time, the Ancestral Hall was very popular, and almost all disciples entering the sect, elders receiving their initiation certificates, and soul tablets being recorded had to go through that hall."

You have received a new chapter update: Chapter 39, "Returning to the Valley to Discover Secrets," here is the reading link.

'

Outsiders only think that the spirit tablet is placed in the ancestral hall to borrow the ancestral master's spiritual power to save lives and leave a mark. But that's not the case.

'

"The true place where the soul tablet takes root is underground."

The old man felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but interject: "Underground soul-nurturing tablet?"

'

The old man in the prison cell nodded, his lips twitching slightly.

"It's not raising, it's washing."

'

"The vengeful spirits of the human race are imprisoned in the Cavern of Ten Thousand Souls, wailing day after day, their resentment refusing to dissipate. The Xuantian Sect uses formations to suppress them and secret techniques to refine them, washing that resentment and pain into the soul tablets."

With this foundation, the disciple's soul tablet becomes more stable and efficacious. If someone dies, the sect can respond more effectively; if someone suffers karmic retribution, the vengeful spirits of the underworld can share a portion of the burden.

Upon hearing this, Huang Chen's eyes slowly turned cold.

No wonder.

No wonder someone like Zhao Wuji dared to investigate the cause and effect again and again, even asking the sect's patriarch to make a deduction.

So that's where the secret lies.

It wasn't simply a matter of brute force through cultivation, but rather the use of the evil Myriad Souls Cavern, which used the resentment, cries, and fates of countless humans before their deaths to cushion the entire sect.

Miner B nodded hurriedly: "Yes, sir, yes! I also heard those overseers say when they were drunk that when several important figures in the sect asked the patriarch to perform divination, they had to go to the ancestral hall to burn tablets, offer blood, and appease the soul first."

Without that underground pit to support it, so many things couldn't have been pushed out, and the backlash wouldn't have been contained.

The stone hall fell silent.

Only the spirit stone at the center of the array emitted a slight hum.

Huang Chen slowly tapped his knee with his knuckles, once, then again.

If this news is true, then the most important place in the Xuantian Sect is not the imposing mountain gate or the flying sword halls, but the Ten Thousand Souls Cave beneath the Ancestral Hall.

That's a root.

It's also an abscess.

Old Tie licked his lips and whispered, "If there really is such a place, and we go in there, the Xuantian Sect will go crazy."

'

Huang Chen didn't say anything.

The old man in the prison cell tremblingly pulled out a tiny, folded piece of animal hide from his robes.

The animal hide was blackened, with charred and curled edges, as if it had been half-burned by fire, and dark brown blood scabs were still stuck to it.

"Sir, we found this thing next to the corpse of a guardian disciple deep in Blood Valley."

Everyone was busy escaping at the time, and no one recognized it. Later, I watched for half the night before I finally figured out some of the trick.

'

The old man took it and carefully unfolded it.

Only half a hide remained.

The drawing depicts extremely rough mountain lines, with several turns marked in red and black. There are also strange symbols in the middle, resembling some kind of ritual vein diagram. In the bottom right corner, a small opening is marked diagonally, next to which are two almost worn-off characters—Back Cliff.

Huang Chen took the animal skin map and scanned it inch by inch with his eyes.

He quickly recalled and compared the previously captured map of the Ten Thousand Mountains' forces, the demon race's marching route, and even the Xuan Tian Sect's related routes.

The positions are incomplete.

But we had enough clues.

The old man in the prison said in a low voice, "I used to stay in the outer mountains of the Xuantian Sect, and I still have some impression of the back cliff of the ancestral mountain. That place is a desolate cliff left after the old sacrificial lineage was abandoned, and few people usually go there."

If this animal hide map is correct, there's a crack in the abandoned vein there that can bypass the outermost layer of the mountain-protecting formation.

The guy's breathing became heavy.

"Straight down to the back cliff of Zushan?"

"Only around the outer layer."

The old man in the prison cell smiled bitterly, "I don't know what other restrictions are inside. But if you really want to sneak in, this is one of the few ways."

'

Huang Chen folded the animal skin pattern back up and held it between his fingers.

The wind whistled past the cave entrance outside the stone hall, carrying with it the shouts of children practicing their steps.

Those were the newly recruited guards in the shelter practicing; their voices were still weak, but their breathing was gradually picking up.

Huang Chen stood up.

The movement aggravated the wound, causing a slight tightness in my chest.

He seemed oblivious, and simply walked towards the edge of the formation.

"Sir?" Old Tie was taken aback.

"Keep working on the workshop and crossbow frames on the back mountain," Huang Chen said as he walked. "Double the patrol team size, and don't shut them off during the night when it's foggy."

The newly arrived survivors should be housed separately, not all crammed into one hole. The epidemic prevention measures, fire pits, and sewage ditches should be handled according to the procedures I left behind.

"Know.

'

"Also, arrange for these two to live in the inner room. Make sure they have enough food and herbs, and have someone watch over them, not to prevent them from dying suddenly."

'

Old Tie's lips twitched: "What you're saying is weird."

Huang Chen stopped and glanced back at him.

"If the Xuantian Sect can extend its reach into Blood Valley, it can extend its reach elsewhere. People who know this are troublesome just by living."

'

The smile on Lao Tie's face vanished instantly, and he nodded emphatically.

That night.

The valley was eerily quiet.

Most people were asleep, and only the night patrol torches were still flickering in and out of the mist.

Huang Chen changed into a set of black clothes that would allow him to move stealthily, with a black wind cloak over his body, and a black iron sword and several talismans hanging at his waist. He didn't even carry the Asura Blood Blade in the open.

He didn't attract too much attention.

Ah Shi, carrying the warmed medicinal soup, chased after him to the cave entrance, his forehead beaded with sweat.

"Sir, you haven't had your drink yet—"

Huang Chen took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

The medicine was so bitter it burned as it went down my throat and into my stomach.

Ah Shi took the empty bowl and whispered, "Sir, should we bring two more people?"

'

"Need not."

"grown ups……"

Huang Chen raised his hand and patted his shoulder.

"Guard this place."

Ashi's throat moved, and finally he just nodded heavily: "Yes, sir."

'

Night fell over the mountains.

Huang Chen emerged from the flame, made a hand seal at the edge of the mist to conceal his aura, and quickly disappeared into the forest.

He didn't take the main path, but instead followed the shadows and the mountain ridges. With the perception of an early-stage Earth Immortal spreading out, the wind, insect chirps, and beast roars in the mountains seemed to be torn into thin threads and fell into his ears.

Two hundred miles away, a pack of wolves is fighting for food.

The ravine to the left is filled with rotting corpses, and the smell is pungent.

Further away, faint traces of sword energy could still be seen, most likely left by remnants of the Xuantian Sect during their earlier mountain search.

Huang Chen kept going the whole way.

The location marked by the animal hide map is in a dead valley nestled between cliffs at the rear of the ancestral mountain of the Xuantian Sect. That place is far from the Fire of the Gods, and the route is even more circuitous; it would take an ordinary person at least three or four days to travel there.

Using the Mountain and River Boots to accelerate, and avoiding several areas where monsters roamed, Huang Chen managed to reach the edge before nightfall.

The terrain ahead suddenly sank down.

The moonlight was blocked by the cliff, leaving only a gray-white bright edge hanging on the cliff top.

Below the cliff were scattered rocks and cracks, but the vegetation was unusually sparse, and large areas of dark red rock were exposed on the ground, as if they had been soaked by something for a long time.

When the wind blows, a pungent, fishy smell rises in the air, making one's chest feel heavy. It doesn't smell like fresh blood, but more like old blood that has been soaking in mud for too long and then steamed over a fire.

Huang Chen squatted down and pressed his palms against the ground.

cold.

It's not cold enough.

This place is clearly buried inside the mountain, yet the rock strata exude a chilling aura, as if an invisible pool of stagnant water lies beneath.

He searched for half an hour following the remaining map, and finally found an extremely narrow crevice between two overturned boulders.

The slit was only half a person's width wide, covered with gray and white withered vines on the outside, and black and opaque on the inside.

As soon as Huang Chen got close, his brow twitched.

The Blood Fiend Sensing System operates spontaneously.

The next instant, a thick, sticky aura of malevolence surged up from the ground, like a red-hot iron rod, piercing straight into the sea of ​​consciousness.

Immediately afterwards, from an unknown depth below, a long, drawn-out sob could be faintly heard.

more than one.

It sounded like hundreds or thousands of mouths were crying at the same time, muffled and dull, yet sharp and piercing, through the thick mountain rocks.

Huang Chen's face darkened, and he instantly took half a step back, his palm already resting on the hilt of his knife.

The wind poured out from the depths of the crack, carrying the stench of decay, blood, and the acrid smell of burning paper ash.

He stood before the seam and slowly raised his head.

Above the cliff, three extremely dark green lights appeared out of nowhere.

Like an eye.

It also resembles a lamp.