Burning Heart with a Broken Sword

Meng Tian's iron arm tightly gripped Cheng Xi's waist, sprinting through the shadows of Xianyang Palace. The body in his arms was hot as a branding iron, and the out-of-control cyan-gray sword energy, like living snakes, continuously tore at his armor, leaving bloody gashes on his steel-like arms. Each burst of sword energy was accompanied by Cheng Xi's convulsive twitches and suppressed groans of pain.

"Hold on! The Imperial Physician is just ahead!" Meng Tian roared, his tiger's mouth torn open by a sudden surge of sword energy, bleeding profusely.

"Let... go..." Cheng Xi's teeth were bloody, the Chaos Sword Essence, stimulated by the Ancestor Dragon's Power, had gone completely berserk, crashing through his shattered meridians like a breached lava flow. The faint light of the Tongtian Mark flickered between the cracks of the sword sheath, like a candle in the wind. He felt his body turning into a volcano about to erupt, every inch of his flesh screaming to break free from its restraints and blow everything around, including himself, into dust!

"Ugh—!" Another uncontrolled sword energy exploded from his right shoulder! The cyan-gray edge, like a poisonous vine, instantly wrapped around Meng Tian's chest plate!

Screech—!

The steel-forged chest plate was corroded and pierced as if it were thin paper! The sword energy, its momentum not yet dissipated, thrust directly at Meng Tian's heart!

A hair's breadth from disaster!

Whoosh—!

A dark streak of light tore through the night, arriving just in time! It was a crude bone arrow, its shaft entwined with Savage Blood Qi, accurately striking the most violent node of the cyan-green sword energy!

Bang!

There was no clash of metal, only a dull thud like a heavy drum. The berserk sword energy was actually pinned in mid-air by the seemingly primitive bone arrow, like a poisonous snake whose seven inches had been grasped, writhing madly but unable to advance an inch! The dark red blood qi entwined around the arrow's tail spread as if alive, beginning to devour and neutralize the chaotic cyan-gray edge!

Meng Tian, still shaken, looked up sharply.

From the shadows of the palace wall, a figure as sturdy as an iron tower slowly emerged. He wore a deerskin loincloth, his muscles knotted like ancient bronze rock, and carried a giant bone bow on his back. His face was stern, his eyes as calm as a deep pool. His gaze swept over the corroded hole in Meng Tian's chest plate, finally settling on Cheng Xi, his brow furrowed.

"Houtu Tribe, Hou Yi," his voice was deep, carrying the weight of mountains. "By order of the Empress, seeking the Zhurong Bloodline, I encountered this... chaotic malevolent energy." He stared at the cyan-gray sword energy pinned by the bone arrow, still screaming and struggling. "This power is ferocious; it is not for you to handle. Hand it over to me."

Yan Lingji curled up in the shadow of a cold palace pillar, her right hand tightly gripping the back of her left hand. Beneath her skin, the golden vertical pupil patterns burned hot, like brand irons embedded in her bones. Faint whispers, smelling of sulfur, echoed in her skull, growing clearer:

"Hurting... struggling..."

"Look... this broken shell... this fragile Witch Fire..."

"Open... embrace me... I will grant you the power to burn the world..."

The blazing white Witch Fire instinctively rose, attempting to scorch the patterns, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea. The faint light of the cloud patterns on the sword sheath tried to guide, but was forcefully suppressed by an icy pressure originating from the depths of her bloodline – it was the residual brand of the Will of Pangu Hall, majestic, but more like a heavy shackle!

"Shut up!" Yan Lingji screamed in the depths of her consciousness, her fingernails digging deeply into her flesh, trying to dispel the demonic voice with intense pain. The skin on the back of her hand suddenly tensed, and the rift where the vertical pupil had once opened reappeared! Within the gap, a speck of pure, inhuman dark gold light glowed faintly!

"Be angry... hate..." the demonic voice whispered with seductive stickiness. "What confines you... is that hypocritical Pangu... is this useless sword sheath... destroy them... release me... I am you... you are me..."

The urge to destroy grew like wild grass! Burn this palace that confines her! Burn this useless sword sheath! Burn everything! The dark gold patterns instantly spread to her neck, the berserk heat almost splitting her skin!

Buzz—!

The Qingping Sword Sheath in her embrace suddenly vibrated violently! The cloud patterns at the mouth of the sheath erupted with a final, resolute green light, like a dying man's last burst of energy, fiercely piercing her brow! The weak but resolute voice of Lord Tongtian, mixed with a distant call from the depths of the earth, exploded in her soul:

"Guard the heart lamp! Witch Fire is not for burning the world... but... for passing on the torch!"

At the same time, a vast, heavy will, resonating with the pulse of the earth, pierced through the void and echoed in the depths of her bloodline: "Return... home..."

It was the summons of Pangu Hall! It was the will of Empress Pingxin!

The blazing white Witch Fire suddenly surged! Though weak, it carried a sorrow and unyielding spirit originating from the source of her bloodline, fiercely colliding with the dark gold spreading from her chest! The two forces clashed violently within her!

"Ah—!" Yan Lingji threw her head back and let out a piercing howl! It was not pain, but release! The berserk white flames, mixed with a stream of dark gold light forced out, erupted from every pore of her body like an out-of-control hurricane!

Rumble—!!!

The entire dilapidated side hall of Ganquan Palace was completely torn apart and blown away like a paper toy in this uncontrolled storm of flames! Beams snapped, tiles rained down! In the soaring white flames, a fleeting dark gold shadow could be vaguely seen!

Deep in the desolate forest north of Mount Li, Lu Buwei stumbled and fell under a dead tree. His luxurious Chancellor's robes were already torn to shreds by thorns, stained with mud and blood. He tightly clutched a charred, curled object in his arms – it was the severed half-head of the Shadow of the Demon Lizard Sargeras, covered in broken scales, its cross-section oozing thick, dark gold ichor that had nearly solidified.

"Heh... heh..." he gasped greedily, each breath tearing at the wound on his chest and abdomen, ripped open by the residual sword energy, the pain piercing his heart. The corrosive power of the residual Chaos Sword Essence spread through his meridians like a persistent maggot, bringing burning pain and a strange sense of weakness.

"Power... my power..." he trembled, pressing his face against the cold, foul-smelling severed skull of the demon lizard. The eggshell was destroyed, the Holy Lord's projection was slain, his last reliance... was only this skull containing the residual power of a Demon God!

Buzz...

A faint, extremely weak pulse emanated from the severed skull in his arms! Like the lingering tremor of a dying heart! Immediately after, the solidified dark gold ichor writhed as if alive, seeping into Lu Buwei's chest wound, strand by strand!

"Urk!" Lu Buwei's whole body convulsed! An icy, sticky will, filled with chaos and hunger, instantly seized his soul! It was hundreds of times stronger than when he served the Holy Lord before! Countless mad, twisted fragments of images flooded his mind – shattered stars, wailing gods and demons, endless devouring... and a pair of... giant vertical pupils gazing down upon all realms, cold and merciless!

"No... this is mine... power!" Bloodshot veins filled Lu Buwei's eyes, his remaining reason fiercely clashing with his mad greed. He tried to resist the encroaching will, but the pulse of the demon lizard's skull grew stronger, the seeping dark gold ichor like greedy roots, taking root and spreading within his flesh!

Screech... The skin on his chest silently split open, and a few small, dark gold scales were slowly emerging from the flesh!

Deep within Mount Li, all was silent. The collapsed surface of the demon's lair was covered by thick rock, like a giant scar.

Deep underground, it was dark and silent. Only the Dragon Vein Earth Energy flowed slowly like a golden river through the ancient rock strata, nourishing the entire mountain range and maintaining the foundation of Great Qin's national destiny.

A drop of thick, heavy dark gold demonic blood, exuding endless chaos and malice, was slowly and steadily seeping downwards along the finest cracks in the rock strata. It ignored the instinctive repulsion of the Dragon Vein Earth Energy, like the most stubborn tumor. Wherever it passed, the golden dragon energy was polluted, twisted, and stained with streaks of ominous dark gold patterns.

Finally, it reached the thickest, most surging main dragon vein!

Like a drop of water into boiling oil!

Hiss—!!!

The dark gold demonic blood instantly dissolved! Countless thread-like, snake-like dark gold patterns spread wildly like living creatures! They greedily entwined with the golden torrent of dragon energy, eroding, merging, and polluting... The original majestic dragon vein power was forcibly infused with a trace of ferocity, chaos, and destruction!

From the depths of the earth, a muffled and pained dragon roar was faintly heard. The entire Mount Li, countless birds and beasts scattered in alarm.

In the unseen core of the earth's veins, within the polluted golden torrent, a huge, blurry phantom of a vertical pupil, condensed from pure dark gold demonic energy, was slowly taking shape. In the depths of its pupil, the entire shaking Xianyang City was reflected, as well as... several locations within the city burning with chaos, Witch Fire, and eerie light.

The demonic blood had taken root, poisoning the dragon veins. The severed head was merely a beginning. The true erosion had already quietly spread beneath the dynasty's foundation.