The Divine Urban Physician Chapter 3418: This Is Bad! (Fourth Update)
Previously on The Divine Urban Physician...
The Sky-covering Demon Emperor could not help but offer words of admiration upon witnessing this. Even for someone of his stature, absorbing such a vast quantity of demonic qi would likely result in a loss of consciousness, yet Ye Chen remained standing; his resilience was truly peerless.
While they were conversing, the Sky-covering Demon Emperor’s gaze shifted toward the War Soul Crystal, only to realize with a start that it had vanished, causing his expression to shift instantly.
"Pfft..." Suddenly, the sound of Ye Chen coughing up blood echoed from behind him. Hearing the noise, the Sky-covering Demon Emperor spun around, his face growing exceptionally grave.
Ye Chen’s physical body was beginning to rupture. Countless streams of dark demonic qi leaked from the cracks in his skin, drifting away into the atmosphere of the Ancient Battlefield.
By forcibly entering a demonized state and taking in such an immense volume of demonic qi, Ye Chen had far surpassed the limits of what he could control. Under the focused gaze of the Sky-covering Demon Emperor, it was clear that Ye Chen’s internal organs were being corroded and decayed by the volatile demonic qi.
"Ye Chen, can you hold on?" The Sky-covering Demon Emperor felt a surge of anxiety; with both the War Soul and Mo Xue Ming eliminated, it would be catastrophic if something happened to Ye Chen now.
"I’m... fine." Ye Chen forced these words out with great effort before spitting out another mouthful of fresh blood.
"The War Soul Crystal! We must find the War Soul Crystal immediately! Refining it is the only way to heal Ye Chen’s wounds!" The Sky-covering Demon Emperor hurriedly propped Ye Chen up while shouting urgent orders to Xiao Bai, the You Ying Ghost Weasel, and the others.
Xiao Bai and the rest were already consumed by worry at the sight of Ye Chen’s battered state. Upon hearing the Demon Emperor’s shout, they realized the War Soul Crystal had indeed disappeared, and their expressions turned to shock.
Ye Chen had sacrificed a great deal to slay the War Soul, and that crystal was his only hope for recovery. If it was gone, what could they possibly do?
"I think I saw the War Soul Crystal fly in that direction!" Xiao Bai recalled a flickering shadow and pointed toward the distant horizon. Without a second thought, the You Ying Ghost Weasel bolted forward, with Xiao Bai and Ye Lingtian following closely behind.
...
Meanwhile, within the Netherworld Hall, Mo Xue Ming sat cross-legged in the center of the great hall, his complexion deathly pale. Suddenly, a Space Channel tore open, and a dimly glowing Xuanwu Sky-opening Axe tumbled out from the void.
"Hmph!" Mo Xue Ming snatched the Xuanwu Sky-opening Axe with one hand. One look at the weapon allowed him to understand exactly what had occurred.
Only moments before, while he was attempting to recover, a sudden backlash had nearly triggered a Cultivation Deviation. He knew then that his Avatar had been destroyed. Now, through the connection with the axe, the full sequence of events was revealed to him.
"Demon Emperor, Ye Chen... you two have ruined my grand designs! I will have your lives!"
Mo Xue Ming’s furious roar shook the entirety of the Netherworld Hall, the sound lingering like a curse.
...
Back on the Ancient Battlefield, thick dark clouds hung heavy in the sky, and the scent of blood essence filled the air. Xiao Bai and Ye Lingtian trailed the You Ying Ghost Weasel into the deepest reaches of the battlefield, eventually arriving at the edge of a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.
"The War Soul Crystal is down there; I can sense its presence," Xiao Bai remarked, her eyes fixed on the dark depths below.
The abyss was a void of absolute darkness, filled with surging waves of resentment and malicious aura. At that moment, the Sky-covering Demon Emperor arrived, carrying the weakened Ye Chen.
"This place..." The Sky-covering Demon Emperor’s brow furrowed slightly. This was the convergence point for all the resentment and grudges of the battlefield; this chasm was clearly no ordinary landmark.
"The War Soul Crystal was likely formed here. Even though I destroyed the War Soul, the crystal itself probably retained a shred of instinct and returned to its birthplace," Ye Chen explained in a frail voice.
"We have to retrieve it quickly, or the War Soul might be reborn within this abyss!"
"I understand." The Sky-covering Demon Emperor nodded firmly. He handed Ye Chen over to the You Ying Ghost Weasel and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged into the dark abyss.
"Boom!" As the Sky-covering Demon Emperor descended, the malicious aura within the pit began to boil as if provoked by an intruder, violently resisting the entry of any living soul.
"Boom!" The overwhelming pressure of resentment surged upward, causing the Po Jun Battle Emperor Robe on the Demon Emperor’s body to flutter wildly. However, as his own demonic qi erupted around him, the malicious energy was forced back.
"Reveal yourself!" The Sky-covering Demon Emperor’s presence exploded with invincible power. His demonic qi transformed into a World Destructive Divine Radiance, blasting through the darkness and carving a clear path through the sea of resentment.
He charged down the path, his eyes shining with a Divine Radiance that cut through the eternal gloom of the pit.
On the walls of the abyss, horrific faces formed from the malicious aura shrieked at him, whispering maddening words designed to fracture one's mind.
"Silence!" The Sky-covering Demon Emperor roared with domineering authority, his violent demonic qi shattering the ghostly visages instantly.
Finally reaching the bottom, he saw a stone altar standing in the center. The War Soul Crystal hovered above it, greedily drinking in the surrounding malicious aura.
A translucent figure was beginning to manifest on the crystal's surface, slowly gaining substance.
The Sky-covering Demon Emperor's eyes narrowed. The War Soul was indeed attempting a rebirth; he had arrived just in time.
"Don't even dream of it. Since you are dead, stay dead!" The Sky-covering Demon Emperor released the Slaughter Immortal Sword. It turned into a streak of Streaming Light, trailed by ribbons of demonic qi that looked like a dark rainbow.
"Ah!" As the sword pierced the forming phantom, a chorus of blood-curdling screams erupted, sounding like the wailing of a thousand Evil Ghosts. The sound was so chilling it momentarily rattled even the Demon Emperor’s soul.
In the next breath, the phantom shattered into pieces. The War Soul Crystal dropped onto the stone platform. The Sky-covering Demon Emperor regained his focus, snatched the crystal, and the Slaughter Immortal Sword returned to hover behind him.
"Buzz!" The moment his fingers closed around the War Soul Crystal, the entire abyss seemed to react in rage. The resentment and malicious aura began to constrict, and the tunnel he had cleared with his demonic qi started to collapse.
Above, Ye Chen watched the developments with a grim expression. It was obvious the abyss possessed a primitive consciousness and was unwilling to let the Demon Emperor leave with its prize.
"If the Senior Demon Emperor gets trapped by that aura, it will be disastrous."
Disregarding the agony of his own injuries, Ye Chen immediately gathered his strength to chant the Heavenly Dragon Eight Divine Sounds!
"Om! Ba! Ne! Ba! Me! Mou! Wu! Bo!"
The Hongmeng Sound Symbols manifested one after another, anchoring themselves to the Demon Emperor’s collapsing channel and stalwartly holding back the encroaching malicious aura.
"Pfft..." The strain was too much for Ye Chen’s broken body. Forcing the technique almost caused him to black out, but Xiao Bai was there to catch him.
"Brother Ye Chen!" Xiao Bai’s eyes welled with tears as she held him.
Suddenly, the Sky-covering Demon Emperor erupted from the abyss, cloaked in violent demonic qi. The moment he cleared the opening, the channel he had used was completely crushed by the weight of the exploding resentment.
"Boom!" A massive wave of malicious aura chased after him, surging out of the hole in a desperate attempt to reclaim the War Soul Crystal from his grasp.