Chapter 757 758: Mass Slaughter

"Hmph, so they can sense it!" Ye Xuan watched the black patterns coldly. He unleashed his Devouring Martial Soul, and a terrifying power surged into the two men's bodies.

Within Xiao Canglan and Xiao Wuji, large swaths of black Demonic Qi rapidly swarmed toward their minds, sweeping toward the souls residing there.

But no matter how fast the black Demonic Qi was, it couldn't outpace the Devouring Martial Soul's absorption. Furthermore, the Demonic Qi in this Spirit Marrow Pool was much weaker than the kind that had once invaded Ye Xuan. In the blink of an eye, it was absorbed completely, leaving nothing behind.

The Devouring Martial Soul began to radiate streaks of a black luster. After absorbing the Demonic Qi, it became even more eerie and treacherous.

"We..."

Having come to their senses, both Xiao Wuji and Xiao Canglan looked somewhat stunned and dazed.

"Say no more. We're leaving this place immediately."

Ye Xuan said, his expression grave. The moment he finished speaking, he summoned the Zhenyuan Stone and blasted it at the stone wall above.

BOOM!

The entire stone wall immediately shook, and countless cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

"Young Master Ye, you don't have to go to all that trouble. There's an exit through the Restriction here..." Patriarch Xiao Wuji quickly said.

In truth, Ye Xuan had already seen it without Xiao Wuji needing to say a word. This outer altar was completely different from the core one; it had an exit through the Restriction. But even so, Ye Xuan had no intention of using it. He would blast his own way out.

The outer altar was much less sturdy than the core one. After only three strikes from Ye Xuan, the entire structure shattered with a deafening blast.

The numerous Martial Emperors outside were startled by the commotion. They all turned to look just in time to see Ye Xuan, Xiao Wuji, and Xiao Canglan bursting out of the ruined altar.

"Patriarch! Grand Elder!" Xiao Ming and the others cried out in joyful surprise.

"Enough talk. We're leaving this place immediately."

Ye Xuan cut their reunion short, his expression grave. He had just made an alarming discovery.

"Alright."

The members of the Xiao family had great faith in Ye Xuan. The group immediately transformed into streaks of light, shooting away from the altar.

Before leaving, Ye Xuan couldn't resist calling out to everyone present, his voice booming, "Everyone, I urge you to leave this place at once! There's something strange about the Spirit Marrow Pools in these altars. If you stay, you will all die! Don't say I didn't warn you."

A clamor arose from the altars below. Many scoffed at Ye Xuan's words, but some couldn't help but grow suspicious.

'The Xiao family members had been cultivating just fine. Why would Ye Xuan smash their altar for no reason? And there was clearly still Spirit Marrow Liquid remaining, yet the Xiao family was abandoning it without a second glance. It really looked like they were desperate to get away.'

'It made some sense for the Xiao family's two Third Layer Martial Emperors to leave, since they had already been cultivating in the Spirit Marrow Pool for some time. But there were still some Second Layer Martial Emperors in their group who hadn't even entered a pool yet. Still, they ignored the pools right in front of them and left without the slightest hesitation.'

'Could there really be something wrong with the Spirit Marrow Pools?'

"Second Brother, we should go too," a Martial Emperor on one of the outer altars said gravely.

"Big Brother, what are you doing? We haven't even broken through the Restriction to get into a Spirit Marrow Pool. You can't seriously believe that kid, can you?" a nearby Peak of Second Layer Martial Emperor asked in confusion.

"I don't think he was lying. Besides, Princess Qing from the Moon God Palace just said the same thing. Given her status, there's absolutely no reason for her to deceive us."

"But..."

"No buts. A Spirit Marrow Pool is important, but you need to be alive to enjoy it. This place is incredibly strange, but it's also full of treasures. Even if we miss out on the pools, we can still find other things," the leading Third Layer Martial Emperor said, his gaze stern.

"Alright then."

Similar scenes played out on several other altars. All at once, dozens of Martial Emperors took to the air, preparing to leave.

Among them, some truly believed Ye Xuan's warning, while others were simply leaving in frustration, knowing they couldn't break into the altars anyway.

Seeing them, Ye Xuan nodded to himself. 'I've done all I can,' he thought. 'Whether they believe me is out of my hands.'

SWOOSH!

But before Ye Xuan could fly clear of the altars, a figure suddenly blocked his path. It was Princess Qing. She stared at Xiao Wuji and Xiao Canglan in astonishment before saying with delight, "You rescued them? Since you were able to save them, you should save the others in the altars too."

Ye Xuan gave Princess Qing a speechless look and frowned. "Why are you still here? Listen to me and leave this place immediately."

"I can't. There are still so many people in the altars who need rescuing," Princess Qing said, shaking her head. Her expression was so naive that Ye Xuan had to stop himself from cursing.

"There's no time," Ye Xuan said, shaking his head and glancing at the altars below. "If we don't leave now, we'll die here too."

"What do you mean there's no time? You saved me and you saved them. All you have to do is..."

Before Princess Qing could finish her sentence—HUM!—the Restrictions on the altars below suddenly bloomed with a hazy black light.

Ye Xuan's expression changed drastically. "Let's go, now!"

With that, he grabbed Xiao Wuji and the others and shot away at top speed.

On the altars below, the Martial Emperors who had remained stared in surprise. SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Figures began to fly out from within the altar Restrictions—they were the experts from the various powers who had entered earlier.

"Master."

"Patriarch."

"Sect Master, why are you all out?"

The Martial Emperors who had remained outside stared in astonishment at their returning leaders.

"Die!"

The returning experts suddenly snapped their heads up. Their faces were covered in a web of fine black lines, like corrupted veins, and their pupils had turned an eerie, jet-black. With a hoarse cry, they ruthlessly attacked their own subordinates.

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

Caught completely off guard, countless Martial Emperors had no time to dodge and were instantly blasted into clouds of blood mist. Horrified screams immediately echoed throughout the entire altar region.

"Master, no! Aaaargh!"

"Patriarch, what's wrong with you? It's me, Uncle Ze!"

"Sect Master, you—"

Amidst the bloodcurdling screams, the altar region instantly became a river of blood.

The experts who had broken through the Restrictions were the top cultivators of their respective powers. Taking their own people by surprise, they slaughtered dozens, perhaps even a hundred, Martial Emperors in a matter of moments. Great streams of blood formed rivulets that flowed into the altars, dyeing them a sickening crimson.

HUM!

Bathed in this baptism of blood, the altars began to emit an eerie red glow. A soul-shaking presence emanated from their depths, as if an ancient seal had been broken, releasing an aura of immense, timeless power.

Threads of black Demonic Qi snaked out from the base of the altars. With the altars as the epicenter, they spread across the ground like a dark web of veins, expanding in every direction.

Meanwhile, the corrupted experts from the major powers let out horrifying roars. Bathed in the burgeoning Demonic Qi, they began to madly hunt down the surviving Martial Emperors in the sky, like devils unleashed.

"What in the world is happening?"

From dozens of miles away, Xiao Wuji and the others watched the scene in utter horror, their faces pale with fright.

"We need to leave this place now," Ye Xuan said, his face ashen. "I suspect these weren't altars at all. They were an ancient seal, and it's just been broken."

"What? An ancient seal?" Princess Qing exclaimed in shock. "This place is obviously ancient, at least ten thousand years old. Even if something was sealed here, after all that time, wouldn't it have died long ago?"

"Not necessarily."

Ye Xuan said coldly.

Ten thousand years might seem like an eternity to mortals, but to the terrifying entities of the ancient era, it was nothing.

The simplest example was Zhan Shang, who had been imprisoned in Ancient Yang City. That member of the Soul-devouring Race had been suppressed for at least ten thousand years, yet the moment the seal was broken, he was reborn.

If the Spirit Demon Race could have been destroyed so easily, they would never have been sealed here in the first place.

"Young Hero, what should we do now? And what about those experts..."

The nearly one hundred Martial Emperors who had heeded Ye Xuan's warning and escaped now gathered around him, watching the massacre in horror. One of them asked respectfully, his voice laced with panic.

Ye Xuan's voice was grave. "Everyone, the experts who entered the Spirit Marrow Pools have had their souls and consciousness seized by the Demonic Qi, turning them into puppets. My advice to you all is this: leave here immediately. If I'm right, the sealed entity can't re-emerge that easily. Controlling this group of human Martial Emperors is just the first step in its plan. Our only chance of survival is to get out of here."

'Leave this place?' At the thought of the many treasures in this mysterious land, a hint of reluctance appeared on the Martial Emperors' faces. But one look at the ongoing massacre in the distance was like a bucket of ice water to the head, jolting them back to reality.

"Everyone, I'll be taking my leave."

Seeing their hesitation, Ye Xuan wasted no more words. He immediately led the Xiao family away, speeding toward the outer edges of the area.

He had said his piece. Whether the others could bring themselves to abandon the potential treasures was no longer his concern.

On the strange and wicked altars, the brutal slaughter raged on.

A large number of still-conscious Martial Emperors struggled to resist, but they were facing the absolute strongest experts from their own factions. They stood almost no chance.

HUM! HUM! HUM! HUM!

At the critical moment, vast, majestic phantoms burst forth from the bodies of some of the cultivators. The moment these figures appeared, a significant portion of the Demonic Qi hanging over the altars seemed to dissipate.