strictlysupreme Chapter 130 Righteous Qi Locks Evil Souls, Joining Forces to Break the Sacrifice
Chapter 130 Righteous Qi Locks Evil Souls, Joining Forces to Break the Sacrifice
Lin Chen used the dissipated starlight energy from the altar to regulate his breathing for a moment. Not much, but enough. His damaged meridians calmed down slightly, and the Star Martial Core slowly began to rotate again, like an engine that had been restarted—not fast, but stable. Scattered starlight energy gradually gathered on the sword, like dewdrops falling from the tip of a leaf, flowing into streams, then into rivers, and finally into the sea.
He saw the shift in the battle. The evil spirit's limbs were bound by righteous energy, its chest and abdomen were burned through by the elixir fire, and its supply line was severed by Leng Feng's blade. It struggled, roared, and burned, but it had not yet fallen. Within it remained a thousand-year-old resentment, the poison left behind by generations of traitors in the Qin family. If it was not completely purified, it would return with a vengeance.
Lin Chen drew his sword and slowly stepped onto the altar steps. His steps were not fast, but each one was steady. The silvery-white starlight on the sword flickered, like a beating heart.
"The Qin family's thousand-year-old mistakes should not be allowed to continue to cause trouble due to resentment."
He raised his head and looked at the burning phantom of the evil spirit at the top of the altar. His eyes showed weariness, scars, and exhaustion, but no fear, no hesitation, and no intention to retreat.
He activated the Star Step. It wasn't a lightning-fast dash, but a steady, unstoppable advance. His figure swept through layers of dissipating black mist, past splashing alchemical flames, and past trembling golden light. The Star Sword was raised high above his head, the starlight on its blade brightening again from dimness, then becoming dazzling, and finally blindingly brilliant.
He unleashed the last vestiges of his stellar power. It wasn't an explosion, it was a burning out. After all the battles, exhaustion, and depletion he had endured in this secret realm, he poured the last bit of strength he could squeeze out into this single sword strike.
Star River Myriad Calamities Slash.
This wasn't the first time it had been used, but this time, it was more refined than ever before. A silver sword rainbow shot forth, not as a vast, overwhelming galaxy of phantoms, but as a thin, silvery-white line, like a needle, a beam of light, a knife. Following the gap torn open by righteous energy, following the cracks burned through by the elixir fire, it pierced straight into the core of the evil soul's origin.
The moment the silver light entered its body, the massive form of the evil spirit abruptly froze. It ceased struggling, roaring, and pounding against the golden barrier. It stood there, frozen like a statue, wisps of black and red evil energy emanating from its body seeping outwards through the cracks. The resentment, hatred, and obsession accumulated over millennia, under the layered disintegration of the stellar primordial power, melted away like ice and snow meeting the spring sun, gradually dissipating and returning to nothingness.
The dark red mist scattered and drifted away, turning into wisps of black smoke, which were then dispersed by the righteous energy of the altar. The enormous phantom shattered inch by inch from top to bottom—not an explosion, but shattering, like an old, neglected statue slowly peeling away in the wind. First, the surface paint came off, then small fragments, then large pieces of stone, and finally even the skeleton disintegrated, turning into a pile of ashes, which were blown away by the wind without a trace.
The Blood Sacrifice Jade Pendant, having lost its vessel of evil spirit, instantly lost its luster. The blackish-red light faded from the pendant like the receding tide, revealing the grayish-white jade beneath. The pendant slipped from Qin Hao's hand, fell onto the stone surface, bounced once, rolled twice, and came to rest in a depression in a step. The Qin family's evil runes on its surface crumbled inch by inch, like a dried-up riverbed, riddled with cracks.
Exhausted of his vital essence and further weakened by the backlash from the formation's righteous energy, Qin Hao collapsed onto the altar, utterly drained of strength. He leaned against a stone pillar, his head drooping, his chin almost touching his chest. The madness, triumph, and arrogance in his eyes had vanished, leaving only endless despair and bewilderment. His clothes, soaked with sweat, blood, and malevolent energy, clung to his body, outlining his emaciated frame. His fingers twitched slightly, as if grasping at something, but nothing was between them.
The blood-red turbidity swirling around the Star Marrow Liquid in mid-air lost its source of support and rapidly dissipated under the cleansing influence of the altar's righteous energy. The layer of dark red mist, like a veil blown away by the wind, split open in the middle, then rolled, shattered, and evaporated to both sides. The luminous white Star Marrow Liquid was revealed in its entirety once more, its warm, primordial spiritual energy scattering and drifting, landing on Lin Chen's shoulders, on Su Muyue's hair, and on everyone else. Wherever the spiritual energy touched, weary muscles were soothed, cracked wounds healed, and withered meridians were nourished.
Su Muyue slowly put away the array flags. The four array flags flew back to her hand from the stone pillars, and the runes on the flags dimmed one by one. The fourfold evil-resistant array then dissipated, and the star inscriptions on the four stone pillars flashed one last time before falling silent, like an old soldier who had completed his mission and quietly closed his eyes.
Chu Fan stepped forward, squatted down, and used a cloth to pick up the shattered fragments of the Blood Sacrifice Jade Pendant. He picked up the fragments one by one, wrapped them in the cloth, and stuffed them into his pocket. Although the jade pendant was broken, its aura and patterns were still there. This was the most direct physical evidence of the Qin family's collusion with the evil race, and it couldn't be lost.
Su Ling'er quickly walked to Lin Chen's side and took out a bottle of Strengthening and Healing Pills from the innermost part of the medicine box. She unscrewed the cap, poured out two pills, and put them into Lin Chen's hand. The pills were pale blue with a fine sheen on the surface and smelled of cool herbs.
"Take the pill quickly." Her voice was urgent and rapid. "You've been overdrawing your life force repeatedly; your injuries can't be delayed any longer. If you wait any longer, your meridians will suffer hidden damage, which will cause serious problems in your future cultivation."
Lin Chen took the pill, swallowed it without a word. The warm medicinal power spread from his stomach to his limbs and bones, slowly nourishing his damaged meridians. It felt like parched land receiving its first spring rain; cracks were gradually closing, and depletion was slowly being replenished.
He slowly walked up to Qin Hao.
Qin Hao didn't look up. He kept his head down, staring at his empty hands. Those hands had once held the Earth-grade magic weapon, the Evil Shadow Sword; they had once held the Blood Sacrifice Jade Pendant; they had once held all the hopes of the Qin family's thousand-year legacy. Now, nothing was left.
"A thousand years ago, the Qin family ancestor was able to establish himself in the martial arts path thanks to the Martial Emperor's grace." Lin Chen's voice was not loud, and his breath was still somewhat unsteady, but every word was steady. "However, their greed was insatiable, and they secretly colluded with evil spirits, attempting to steal the Martial Emperor's inheritance. Generation after generation, they fell into the wrong path."
He paused for a moment.
"Today, the conspiracy in the secret realm has been foiled, and the evidence of Qin Cang's behind-the-scenes schemes is complete. Upon returning to Xingwu University, the Martial Arts Alliance and the Board of Directors will impartially judge the Qin family's crimes."
Qin Hao didn't look up or speak. His shoulders were trembling slightly, whether from the cold, fear, or something else, it was hard to tell. But his lips twitched—not a smile, not a cry, but an unconscious twitch of the lips, a twitch that made him unable to say anything.
All ambitions and schemes came to naught with the destruction of the evil spirit and the shattering of the blood sacrifice.
A night breeze blew from the top of the altar, carrying a crisp, purified aura. The Star Essence Liquid hung in mid-air, its shimmering white light flickering, as if breathing, as if waiting.