That raspy, ancient, and wickedly evil laughter was not loud, yet it was like a venomous needle piercing straight into the Divine Souls of everyone present. The air in the cave, already taut from battle, now felt as if a colossal sheet of ice from the Netherworld had descended upon it, growing cold to the absolute extreme.
The mid-stage Foundation Establishment Protector, who had just lost an arm to Tran Kien, did not continue his attack. Instead, he retreated in terror, his face ashen and devoid of blood. He no longer looked at Tran Kien; he turned around and dropped to one knee toward the altar, his voice trembling.
"W-welcome... We welcome the Sacred Ancestor to emergence!"
The remaining Sacred Gate disciples cast aside their weapons and prostrated themselves in unison, kowtowing frantically, their eyes filled with a mix of fanatical zeal and abject terror.
Tran Kien stood his ground, his grip on the Army-Breaker Saber tightening. The Primordial Chaos Qi within his body was circulating at its limit, yet the terrifying aura radiating from the stone egg still made him feel a sense of suppression coming from deep within his soul. This was not a suppression of cultivation base. This was a suppression of "realm," and the antiquity of a soul that had existed for untold aeons.
CRACK... CRACK... CRACK...
The cracks upon the black stone egg grew more numerous and larger. The wicked black aura pouring out from within was no longer mere wisps, but a churning black tempest. The five hunters bound to the altar had their life force drained at a horrifying speed, their bodies withering into desiccated husks in mere breaths.
Finally, with a loud POP, the stone egg shattered!
But what appeared within was not a hideous monster.
It was a child.
A newborn infant, its skin wrinkled and withered, its entire body coated in a layer of pitch-black liquid. But the most horrifying thing was that it possessed no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. Its face was a flat surface, and right in the center sat a single eye.
A vertical eye. An eerie emerald-green in color.
When that eye opened, it looked at no one else. It looked at the Protector kneeling upon the ground.
"Useless trash." The voice did not come from a mouth; it vibrated directly within everyone's Divine Soul. The voice was simultaneously as immature as a child's and as ancient as a thousand-year-old monster. "To think you couldn't even handle a single Foundation Establishment junior. What use do you have left?"
"Sacred Ancestor, have mercy! This subordinate is incompetent!" The Protector kowtowed repeatedly, his entire body shaking like a leaf in the wind.
"Incompetent? Then become my nutrients."
The infant monster opened a mouth that did not exist. A terrifying suction force erupted from it. The mid-stage Foundation Establishment Protector only had time to let out one final, miserable shriek before his entire blood-essence and spiritual energy were sucked dry. He transformed into a desiccated corpse before being corroded by the black aura and turning to ash.
A Foundation Establishment expert had been killed with such effortless ease!
After consuming its subordinate, the infant monster seemed to grow slightly larger. Its wrinkled skin began to stretch taut. It slowly turned its head, its vertical emerald eye finally fixing upon Tran Kien.
"Inheritor of Lac Viet," it spoke, its voice carrying an undisguised interest and greed. "A body tempered by ancient incantations. Carrying the aura of the Dragon Veins. Good! Very good! Compared to those trash, you are a far more perfect cauldron. Submissively become my new body. It is your honor."
This was the Evil Spirit of the Sacred Dynasty! An ancient soul utilizing a blood sacrifice secret art to achieve rebirth through possession! Their conspiracy was not merely to gnaw at Dai Viet, but to truly return to life and re-establish a demonic dynasty!
Tran Kien said nothing. All the contempt and indignation in his heart were compressed to the limit, transforming into a glacial battle-intent.
"You want my body?" he spoke through gritted teeth. "Then we shall have to see if your teeth are hard enough!"
He no longer hesitated. He knew that facing an old monster like this, all stratagems were useless. There was only one path: battle!
"Army-Breaker: Stabilizing the Mountains and Rivers!"
He did not defend. He launched a proactive attack. The Army-Breaker Saber in his hand let out a roar of indignation. A golden ripple, carrying the iron-clad will of thirty thousand border soldiers, swept straight toward the altar.
"Child's play," the Evil Spirit sneered.
It did not even dodge. It merely raised its small, infant arm. A pitch-black aura surged from its palm, transforming into an eerie shield.
"BOOM!"
The righteous, luminous ripple slammed into the shield. The shield shook violently, yet it did not shatter. On the contrary, it began to slowly corrode and absorb Tran Kien's power.
"How can this be?!" Tran Kien was shocked. This strike of his could easily suppress an entire army of demonic cultivators; why was it useless against this entity?
"Do you think the measly righteous qi of a crumbling dynasty can compare to the 'Sacred Might' of my Sacred Dynasty?" the Evil Spirit spoke, its voice dripping with disdain. "Your Lac Viet legacy has long been obsolete. Allow me to show you what true power looks like!"
Its vertical eye suddenly blazed with light. A beam of emerald-green light—not spiritual energy, but a form of pure soul energy—shot out at a speed that could not be evaded.
"Sacred Soul Spike!"
Tran Kien felt a terminal sense of danger. He frantically channeled his Primordial Chaos Qi, activating the Solar Essence Guardian mark on his forehead. A miniature sun manifested, forming a shield of light before him.
CLANG!
The emerald beam struck the shield. The shield shook violently as countless cracks appeared. But it held.
Yet, this was not the end. A portion of the soul energy still pierced through the defense, stabbing straight into Tran Kien's Sea of Consciousness.
"Ugh!"
He felt as though a red-hot awl had been driven into his mind. An excruciating pain radiated from deep within his soul, causing him to cough up a mouthful of fresh blood as he staggered back.
This was the first time since inheriting the legacy that he had been so severely injured by a single move.
"Oh? You actually blocked it? The legacy of the Sun indeed has some merit," the Evil Spirit seemed slightly surprised, then chuckled eerily. "But that was merely the appetizer. Now, enjoy the main feast."
It did not attack again. It merely raised both arms. The entire Blood Sacrifice Altar began to operate once more. But this time, it was not draining the life force of the hunters.
It was draining... the resentment (Oán khí) of the entire Forbidden Mountain!
Tens of thousands of invisible shrieks echoed from beneath the earth. The resentment of beasts that had died and those who had perished here over centuries were all absorbed by it, forming a pitch-black vortex that enveloped the Evil Spirit.
Its infant body began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming into a youth, then a young man. Finally, it manifested as an emperor clad in black robes and wearing a sovereign's crown. His face was handsome yet incomparably wicked. The vertical emerald eye on his forehead grew even more demonic.
His aura also surged, skyrocketing from the Foundation Establishment Realm straight to the Golden Core Realm!
Tran Kien stood there, his face ashen. He knew that in this game, there was no longer a single path of survival.