Chapter 250: Changes! Missing Cai Yao! Ancient Battlefield!

Although Chen Xuan was planning to save Qian Lingxue and find out where the missing ancestors and Sect Leaders had gone, he had no intention of acting recklessly.

With his two clones still inside the secret realm, studying the Beast Emperor Origin Technique, his real body was the only one capable of resolving some of the remaining issues.

Thinking of this, Chen Xuan's eyes gradually narrowed.

With a thought, he summoned his System Panel.

Immediately, lines of text materialized before him.

...

[Name: Chen Xuan]

[Age: 99]

[Physique: Mutated Life and Death Yin-Yang Spirit Body (Ultimate Grade)]

[Law Mark: Yin-Yang (Immortal Grade)]

[Cultivation: Peak Stage Soul Formation]

[Technique: Jade Pure Sutra (5th Level), Dragon-Phoenix Body (7th Level), Heaven-Swallowing Scripture (5th Level), Kunpeng Art (5th Level)]

[Disciples: Huo Ling'er, Chi Yao, ???]

...

Compared to the last time he had checked it, nearly every column had changed.

From his age to his cultivation, techniques, and disciples, almost everything was different from before.

The most obvious change was naturally his cultivation.

Peak Stage Soul Formation.

Although he had already expected this after comprehending the Yin-Yang Law Mark, seeing those words on the System Panel still gave Chen Xuan a strange feeling.

He had spent many years cultivating.

Yet compared to his current strength, the Chen Xuan from before entering the Goddess of the Ocean's palace seemed almost like a completely different person.

Every technique in the techniques column had also undergone a massive transformation, with each one improving by several levels.

Meanwhile, the previously hidden Kunpeng Art had now appeared on the Panel, directly reaching the 5th Level.

Just this, combined with the improvement in his cultivation, was enough to showcase how massive Chen Xuan's transformation truly was.

However, although he was pleased to see these changes, his attention did not remain on them for long.

Soon, his gaze shifted toward the final column.

The disciples. His expression changed slightly.

Cai Yao's name, which had previously been there, was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, it had been replaced by several question marks.

Chen Xuan stared at them silently for a moment.

Although he had already expected something like this, he was still surprised after truly confirming his guess.

'It seems the System really can't recognize her anymore.'

The disappearance of Cai Yao's name was not completely unexpected.

After all, everything that had happened inside the illusion had already become extremely complicated.

Whether Cai Yao had truly become his disciple in the past, whether he had merely changed the course of history, or whether the entire experience had been some kind of special inheritance, Chen Xuan still had no definite answer.

The System's reaction only made things more complicated.

With a thought, Chen Xuan pulled up the notification log.

He carefully searched through it, wanting to see whether there were any new rewards as a result of Cai Yao's cultivation.

Unfortunately...

There was nothing.

Not only were there no new rewards, but even the rewards Chen Xuan had already claimed, including the Nine Origins and the other items, had disappeared from the notification log.

This was especially strange.

The rewards themselves still existed. The Nine Origins and the other treasures were still in the hands of his clones.

Their existence proved that everything he had experienced had not simply been an illusion.

Yet the System had erased all traces of those rewards from the notification log.

Chen Xuan fell silent for a moment.

'Sure enough, there is no such thing as a free meal.'

He sighed inwardly.

Originally, Chen Xuan had been full of expectations.

After all, the Goddess of the Ocean had eventually grown into a powerful Immortal.

Since she was his disciple, he had naturally wondered whether he would continue receiving rewards whenever she broke through.

If that were really the case, then Chen Xuan would immediately soar to the heavens.

Let alone the rewards for a breakthrough into the Immortal Realm.

Even rewards triggered by Soul Transformation or Void Refining breakthroughs would be more than enough to help Chen Xuan's strength improve dramatically.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the System would not give him a chance to exploit such a loophole.

'Of course, whether this is because of the System's own will or simply because of the chaos in the timeline remains to be seen.' Chen Xuan muttered inwardly.

He couldn't determine which possibility was correct.

For now, Chen Xuan could only leave the matter aside.

After taking a few more looks at the Panel and confirming that he hadn't missed anything, he shook his head and dismissed it.

Then, he waved his hands.

Countless materials appeared before him.

Corpses of beasts. Rare materials. Precious pill ingredients.

In an instant, a mountain of valuable resources filled the room.

The surrounding dark void trembled slightly as dense Spiritual Energy spread from the materials, filling the space with a faint pressure.

These resources had been accumulated by Chen Xuan over a long period of time.

Many of them had originally been prepared for future cultivation.

Now, however, he no longer had any reason to save them.

Chen Xuan's eyes flashed.

After taking a brief look at the resources before him, he circulated the Heaven-Swallowing Scripture.

Boom!

His body instantly seemed to transform into a black hole.

The surrounding Spiritual Energy surged toward him, continuously pouring into his body and nourishing every part of him.

At first glance, this seemed similar to the Kunpeng Art.

Yet Chen Xuan knew that the effects of the two were completely incomparable.

No matter how powerful the Kunpeng Art was, it was ultimately a spell.

Its primary purpose was still combat.

The Heaven-Swallowing Scripture, however, was a cultivation technique developed by the Heaven-Swallowing Empress.

The two were on completely different levels.

Under the power of the Heaven-Swallowing Scripture, Spiritual Energy continuously rushed into Chen Xuan's body and was refined at an astonishing speed.

His physical strength received nourishment. His Physique received nourishment.

Even the Spiritual Energy within his body became increasingly vigorous.

Of course, given Chen Xuan's current strength, ordinary Spiritual Energy was far from enough to catalyze any significant transformation.

The improvement was negligible.

If he relied solely on Spiritual Energy, he would probably need an extremely long time to see any meaningful progress.

However, Chen Xuan did not panic. He had already expected this.

Soon, his gaze focused on several of the materials before him.

Then...

Bang!

The precious resources instantly shattered.

The energy contained within them erupted in an instant before being forcibly drawn toward Chen Xuan.

Under the control of the Heaven-Swallowing Scripture, the energy was refined into pure power and fused into his body.

At the same time, Chen Xuan circulated the Dragon-Phoenix Body.

Instantly, his physical strength began to soar.

Before he had entered the Goddess of the Ocean's palace, Chen Xuan had already cultivated this technique to the 4th Level, making his physical strength extremely terrifying.

Within the illusion, he had comprehended the technique all the way to the 7th Level.

However, comprehension alone did not mean that he possessed the corresponding strength.

The Dragon-Phoenix Body was a technique that required resources to cultivate.

Without enough energy to support it, no matter how profound his comprehension was, Chen Xuan could not simply skip the process of strengthening his physical body.

To achieve the corresponding level of strength, he would still have to consume the required resources.

Fortunately, although the Dragon-Phoenix Body's requirements were somewhat strict, Chen Xuan could bypass those restrictions through the Heaven-Swallowing Scripture.

The Heaven-Swallowing Scripture allowed him to absorb and refine resources at an astonishing speed. The Dragon-Phoenix Body then transformed that energy into pure physical strength.

With the cooperation of these two techniques, Chen Xuan's physical strength soared at an incredible speed.

His body trembled slightly.

His muscles and bones were continuously strengthened.

Even the energy flowing through his body became increasingly powerful.

Everything happened naturally, as though his body had become an enormous furnace that continuously refined the resources before him.

In Chen Xuan's senses, he would face no bottleneck until he could withstand Soul Transformation attacks based solely on his physical body.

Although such physical strength was not necessarily needed, achieving it would give Chen Xuan great confidence in what was going to happen next.

After all, the stronger he was, the more calmly he could face whatever danger awaited him.

--

While Chen Xuan was improving his strength to its current limit and preparing to depart to save the missing ancestors, in another place, a ferocious battle was already underway.

Mountains of corpses littered the ground. Blood flowed across the battlefield, staining the earth crimson.

Powerful cultivators fought in the sky, on the ground, and everywhere in between.

The fluctuations of Spiritual Energy were so intense that the surrounding space trembled continuously.

The weakest among them were Peak Nascent Soul cultivators. Many had already reached the Soul Formation realm.

In any ordinary place within the Tianxuan Domain, such cultivators would already be considered powerful existences.

Yet here, they were merely participants in an enormous battle.

If any cultivator from the Tianxuan Domain were here, they would undoubtedly be shocked by the scene before them.

Because one of the two warring sides was extremely familiar.

The missing ancestors and Sect Leaders!

The very people Chen Xuan had been preparing to search for were gathered here.

As for their opponents...

"AAGH!"

A shrill cry suddenly echoed across the battlefield, shaking the soul of everyone who heard it.

A skeletal hand pierced directly through a cultivator's Dantian.

The hand was made entirely of bones, yet its movements were incredibly fast. Before the cultivator could react, the skeletal fingers clenched.

Crack!

His Nascent Soul shattered instantly.

Fragments of soul power scattered into the surrounding world, carrying the final traces of his consciousness.

The cultivator's body went limp and fell from the sky.

The fragments of his Nascent Soul were about to disperse completely.

Yet before they could do so, a terrifying face suddenly appeared above them.

The face was pale and twisted, its features distorted into something that barely resembled a human.

Its mouth opened wide, and a terrifying suction force erupted.

The scattered soul fragments were immediately drawn toward it.

One after another, they disappeared into the terrifying mouth.

Then...

Crunch.

A chewing sound echoed across the battlefield.