Sacred Sacrifice and the Eighth Leaf

This news was both important and shocking to Xiao Chen. The Heavenly Stele had grown? He didn’t know if Old Stone Turtle was spinning tales again. “How does it grow?” “Plant a brick in the spring, and in autumn you’ll harvest a Heavenly Stele,” Old Stone Turtle answered nonchalantly. “…” Xiao Chen felt the urge to smack him again. This old turtle was truly incorrigible, spouting nonsense like that. “Please, Grandpa Wang, could you say something reliable?” “What I said is perfectly reliable. But this kind of thing requires enlightenment. It depends on whether you have the talent for it. Otherwise, you’ll never understand it in this life.” Useless! Xiao Chen was utterly exasperated with the old turtle. He could spout such nonsense and still call it enlightenment, making it sound so grand and lofty. “Young man, you need patience. Stay calm and composed when facing things. I’ll give you a hint. Since you know about the existence of things like stone statues, think more carefully, think more deeply.” “Stone statues.” When Xiao Chen heard these two words, he felt as if a massive boulder had been pressed onto his heart. Though he had only seen them once at the end of that ancient time-space passage, they had brought him immense pressure. Ancestral Gods were immortal and eternal, but upon learning of the existence of stone statues, they would surely feel a great threat. Those were beings of supreme terror, deeply endangering the safety of the Ancestral Gods. “Forget it. It’s better not to know, or else you might die young.” Old Stone Turtle muttered this mysteriously. “Grandpa Wang, I really want to…” “Want to what?” “I want to give you a severe beating!” The old turtle clearly knew the truth but refused to say it outright—infuriating, maddening, intolerable.

“Boom!” Just then, a thunderous sound came from not far away. The colossal, mountain-like corpse of the Ancestral Dragon burst into blazing radiance, burning completely, and then the entire body disintegrated. The essence of the Ancestral Dragon’s flesh transformed into a long rainbow that shot out—a spectacular sight. The rainbow took the shape of an Ancestral Dragon, surging with immense power as it plunged into the seven-colored light mass.

In the center of the light mass, Keke was undergoing its final transformation. Receiving such a violent surge of divine radiance accelerated its completion. A youthful dragon cry rang out, not particularly loud, but distinct as it echoed between heaven and earth, carrying supreme pressure.

The seven-colored jade shell on Keke’s skin suddenly cracked. “Crack, crack, crack,” the sounds came continuously. Powerful dragon qi surged into the sky. Seven-colored divine light illuminated the entire abyss. The aura of the Ancestral Dragon spread, deeply shaking people’s hearts.

Though it had successfully evolved into an Ancestral Dragon, Keke within the seven-colored light mass was deeply unwilling. The little creature exerted all its strength, its light blazing as it fiercely suppressed its current true body. It wanted to return to its original form. The cracked seven-colored jade shell trembled for a long time before finally calming down. At last, pieces of the jade shell fell to the ground, and the little creature appeared in the void with two delicate, crystalline little jade horns, looking extremely embarrassed.

At this moment, aside from those two crystalline jade horns, its entire body was pure white like snow, restored to its original state. It had forcefully suppressed its Ancestral Dragon body—a testament to how powerful the bloodline inherited from Keke’s father really was. Seven strands of Ancestral Dragon qi swirled around it, faint dragon cries echoing, as if resonating with Keke. The Seven-Colored Sacred Tree stood beside it, and the small jade bowl floated above its head. Together, they formed an extremely powerful oppressive aura.

“Keke, don’t cover your head.” “My head hurts,” the little creature replied. But it wasn’t really a headache—it was clearly covering its delicate little jade horns with its paws, pressing hard, trying to force them back. It had to be said that after the little creature transformed into a freak equivalent to a young Ancestral Dragon, its power reached a terrifying level. It actually managed to press those delicate little jade horns back in with its small paws, leaving only two crystalline bumps hidden among its snow-soft white fur.

“Clang!” Annoyed, Keke grabbed the small jade bowl from the sky and slammed it onto its head, turning that supreme treasure into a hat. Several dragon cries rang out, and the seven strands of Ancestral Dragon qi shot into the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree at the same time, disappearing in an instant. The little sacred tree became even more crystalline.

The Ancestral Dragon’s physical shell had thus been reduced to ashes. Xiao Chen and Keke bowed deeply in that direction. Seven-colored light dotted the sky. The extraordinary sacred tree had been Keke’s food in the past, coming into this world alongside the little creature. Moreover, the sacred tree had been in Xiao Chen’s possession for a long time, protecting him many times and turning danger into safety.

The grade of the little seven-colored sacred tree was hard to determine. Now, with all seven colors of divine light blazing together, its defensive power was truly astonishing. The seven-colored divine leaves had already grown fully. Who knew if it could undergo another miraculous transformation? Xiao Chen felt he couldn’t mistreat the little tree. Since there were mutilated Ancestral God corpses nearby, they could provide a powerful source of divine energy for it.

The black giant, hundreds of feet tall, had already had eighty percent of its divine power extracted from its physical shell using the supreme techniques from the Forbidden Chapter of the Martial Ancestor’s Scripture. Now, only twenty percent remained, difficult to fully excavate. “Plant the sacred tree on this Ancestral God’s corpse,” Xiao Chen said to Keke, asking for the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree to plant it on the black giant.

The Seven-Colored Sacred Tree had a long heritage, having transformed from the World Tree and possessed extraordinary mystical power. This time, it did not take root in the Ancestral God’s corpse but floated above it, absorbing divine power from a distance through sparkling light points. Divine radiance continuously surged from the black giant’s body—a magnificent, multi-colored divine rainbow that summoned the remaining life essence of the Ancestral God.

Keke guarded nearby, watching very nervously. As for Xiao Chen, he began further actions. He placed another Otherworld Ancestral God’s corpse before the Heavenly Stele and sat cross-legged facing it, ready to begin a new round of sacred sacrifice. This Ancestral God’s corpse had only the upper half left. Under the broken battle suit, bronze-colored skin was still visible, faintly gleaming. The primordial spirit had already been lost, meaning this Otherworld Ancestral God had perished, but the remaining body still brimmed with powerful life force. Death and life were contradictory, yet they appeared together at this moment.

A dazzling light rushed from Xiao Chen’s skull. His entire life essence wrapped around his primordial spirit as it emerged, then instantly shot into the bronze-colored Ancestral God corpse. At the same time, the ancient, mysterious heavenly sounds began—like doomsday hymns, like ancient sacrificial chants, like the secret scriptures of some divine religion, vibrating within the abyss. Going against heaven, the sacred sacrifice began!

The half-length bronze-colored Ancestral God corpse blazed with intense light, as if burning fiercely. Innumerable divine radiances burst forth, flooding the entire abyss. Xiao Chen’s own body was immediately enveloped by divine light, slowly rising and floating cross-legged above the Ancestral God’s head. At this moment, Xiao Chen himself felt that as his body grew stronger, conducting the sacred sacrifice became easier. But the sacrifice did not end there. Thousands of divine beams continuously bathed Xiao Chen’s physical shell, his physique constantly changing and improving.

Lock the soul! This time, Xiao Chen was conducting the sacred sacrifice and absolutely needed to achieve Lock Soul—to allow his physical shell to effectively protect his spiritual consciousness, preventing other Ancestral Gods from attacking his soul. The half-length Otherworld Ancestral God’s corpse gradually dimmed, while Xiao Chen’s own corpse blazed ever brighter. Within the three hundred and sixty-five divinely transformed acupoints, three hundred and sixty-five figures flickered faintly, appearing around Xiao Chen’s body. Each figure carried a powerful oppressive aura, making it seem as if they were not mere phantoms but real, terrifying beings standing in the world.

Meanwhile, the mysterious hidden acupoints scattered across other parts of Xiao Chen’s body also shone like stars, and new tiny acupoints were continuously being divinely transformed. It was hard to imagine just how many acupoints existed in human flesh and blood. Some hidden acupoints could be extremely subtle. At this moment, Xiao Chen’s body seemed like a miniature universe, stars shining, dotted with profundity. Xiao Chen used the hidden life essence within the Ancestral God’s corpse to refine his own treasured body, making this body universe even more hazy and profound. Even the vast heavens seemed shallow in comparison.

Two Heavenly Steles trembled. The essence of the Dao, the essential principles, were engraved into Xiao Chen’s heart—never to be erased in life, accompanying him until the end of his life. The second Heavenly Mark also trembled softly, responding to the Heavenly Steles. Boom! The second part of the pattern on the seventh Heavenly Stele carved itself into Xiao Chen’s divine origin. The immense Heavenly Stele that had manifested in the void shattered space-time and disappeared in an instant, leaving only powerful divine energy fluctuations as proof that it had once manifested. At the same time, Xiao Chen’s primordial spirit shot out and plunged into his own treasured body. The treasured body instantly became dazzlingly bright. The half-length Ancestral God corpse was sent flying. This round of sacred sacrifice ended.

Xiao Chen’s physical body became even stronger and more terrifying. The potential of his physical shell was further unlocked!

“Ah ya,” Keke mumbled, planting the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree atop the flying half-length corpse, letting it continue to absorb divine power. But Xiao Chen did not rest. The third sacred sacrifice began! The third Otherworld Ancestral God’s mutilated corpse also began to burn, blossoming with billions of divine beams. Old Turtle, who had been silent for a long time, nodded and then shook his head, muttering to himself, “Excess is as bad as deficiency. What is too hard is easily broken. One must always leave some leeway.”

“Ah ya!” Just then, Keke cried out in surprise, because after the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree had continuously drawn the remaining life essence from two Ancestral God corpses, it had actually sprouted an eighth leaf! Unlike the seven previous leaves that shone with seven-colored divine light, the eighth leaf was hazy and indistinct, wrapped in chaotic aura. Terrifying divine power trembled, and chaotic light streamed forth.

At the same time, Xiao Chen’s third sacred sacrifice was nearing completion. He used the hidden divine power within the Ancestral God corpses to refine his own body. Divine light blazed, flowing with brilliant color, blazing with intense radiance. “Boom!” Xiao Chen’s physical shell emitted a thunderous roar comparable to an Ancestral God’s. His body radiated intense light as it underwent a violent transformation. “Chi!” At the same time, the sacred sacrifice ended. Xiao Chen’s primordial spirit and life essence shot out from the Ancestral God’s body and instantly returned to his own flesh. His primordial spirit merged perfectly with his body. The strength of his physical shell reached a level that inspired terror!

At this moment, Xiao Chen was filled with immense confidence. Such an indestructible supreme treasured body could surely protect his spiritual consciousness. His former weakness would no longer be a weakness!

Hair flowing like a waterfall, eyes sharp as lightning, Xiao Chen stood in the void, two beams of brilliance shooting from his eyes. At this moment, he sensed the anomaly above the abyss. He knew that powerful enemies had arrived. With a slight tremor of his body, a force that could shatter worlds instantly pierced through the void. Xiao Chen appeared above the abyss, on the surface.

“Chi!” A world-shaking finger beam lit up the sky of the Curse World. It was as thick as a mountain, flying down toward Xiao Chen from the heavens. A hazy figure stood still at the horizon, no taller than an ordinary person, yet at this moment it seemed like a giant mountain, bringing immense pressure—awe-inspiring. Xiao Chen soared into the sky. His bronze-colored treasured body sparkled with light, instantly extinguishing that terrifying finger force. In almost the same instant, he reached the high heavens. “Boom!” The Supreme Hand shattered the void, sending the hazy figure in front flying with one blow.

Leng Xingyi, the Otherworld Ancestral God, let out a cold snort. With a casual sweep, countless curses filled the air, instantly engulfing Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen was unafraid. The Eight Aspect Worlds emerged, enveloping Leng Xingyi. This divine ability was not yet fully formed, so it naturally could not harm the Otherworld Ancestral God. However, two Heavenly Marks had silently appeared in Xiao Chen’s palm. “Bang, bang!” The two steles were not large, but they were extremely terrifying. Shielded by the Eight Aspect Worlds, they instantly shattered countless curses, pierced through heaven and earth, and struck in front of Leng Xingyi!

“Bang!” The two Heavenly Steles, solid as bricks, stamped onto Leng Xingyi’s chest. With a rumble, the powerful Leng Xingyi was shocked and enraged—more than half of his body below the chest was directly ground to dust. “Soul Seize!” Leng Xingyi roared. At such close range, he tried to forcibly extract Xiao Chen’s soul, annihilating both his form and spirit. But the result shocked him. Xiao Chen’s flesh was as firm as the indestructible heavenly shield, solid and powerful enough to lock his spiritual consciousness tightly inside.

“Boom!” At that moment, the two Heavenly Steles, originally the size of bricks, rapidly expanded, majestic in scale, pressing down toward Leng Xingyi’s head.