Ancient Seal Shattered, Shadows Spy

The black mist erupting from the abyss in the ground was like a surging black tsunami, instantly swallowing more than half of the ancient altar plaza.

A bone-chilling, primeval coldness burrowed through pores and into flesh; even the battle-hardened World Lords could not help but tremble in their hearts. The various forces of the Heavens, previously at each other's throats and locked in a standoff, instantly set aside all hostility in the face of this terrifying aura that spanned eons. Everyone's expression tightened as they looked in unison toward the pitch-black crack in the center of the altar.

The rumbling from deep underground never ceased. The divine stone floor of the ancient plaza constantly cracked and rose, while dense golden runes flickered wildly, dimming and brightening in turn. Those forbidden patterns, inherited from ancient ages, no longer emitted a protective light; instead, they vibrated violently, as if in fear and resistance against the terrifying existence awakening beneath the earth.

The Dragon Ball fragments hovering above the altar were completely out of control. Seven-colored rays of light surged violently, colliding with one another and emitting crisp, metallic clangs. The origin power that had originally flowed slowly now dissipated in all directions. Some of it was swallowed and dissolved by the black mist, while some drifted toward the edges of the plaza, drawing burning gazes from countless cultivators, though no one dared to rush forward to snatch it.

"What on earth is this?!"

A powerhouse from an extraterrestrial galaxy, clad in crystal armor, roared in a deep voice. The standard-issue divine weapon gripped in his hand hummed slightly; the immense combat power capable of sweeping across the realm now felt a trace of powerlessness.

The black-robed elder who had previously mocked Lin Chen and his companions had long since lost every shred of his arrogance and composure. He hunched his body, his turbid eyes fixed on the rolling black mist. His aged face was filled with gravity, and his hands beneath his sleeves trembled slightly. He had delved into the evil paths of the Heavens for tens of thousands of years and had ventured into countless ancient secret realms, yet he had never felt an aura so ancient, violent, and bloodthirsty.

"It is not a strange beast, nor is it an extraterrestrial demon... It is the Ruins Qi sealed since ancient times." The black-robed elder's voice was dry, each word heavy. "This secret realm is not a treasure land formed by nature at all; it is a Ruins Field—a seal left behind by the ancient war of the Heavens! What is suppressed beneath the earth is the forbidden remnant soul left over from that great war!"

As his voice fell, everyone present felt a massive shock in their hearts.

The ancient war of the Heavens was a cataclysmic disaster that spanned billions of star regions. Countless supreme powerhouses had fallen, and countless heaven-defying forces had been wiped out. The sealed lands left behind all harbored world-ending dangers that no ordinary cultivator could touch. No one had expected that the core of the secret realm, which everyone had struggled so hard to explore and fight over for the Dragon Ball fragments, was actually a sealed prison buried for eons.

The black mist continued to swell. Within the pitch-black haze, countless blurred, giant silhouettes loomed. One after another, broken ancient war spirits broke free from the shackles of the earth and soared into the sky from the crack. These war spirits had mangled bodies and hideous forms, their bodies wreathed in pitch-black baleful energy and ancient battle intent. Their eyes burned with bloodthirsty ghost-fire, and the moment they appeared, they lunged crazily at every living soul in the plaza.

Howls and roars resounded through the heavens and earth, making people's eardrums ache.

The first to suffer were a few weaker rogue World Lords at the edge of the plaza. Before they could even mobilize their protective vital energy, their bodies were instantly torn apart by the rushing Ancient War Spirits. Their souls were extinguished, leaving not even a scrap of residue behind.

Blood splattered onto the primitive divine stone floor and was instantly absorbed by the runes, but the thick, bloody stench caused the atmosphere of the entire plaza to plummet to freezing point.

"Join forces to fight the enemy! If we keep fighting among ourselves, everyone will die here!"

Someone roared, instantly snapping the panicked crowd out of their stupor.

The powerhouses of the major factions no longer cared about their grievances and disputes. They mobilized their lifelong cultivation, and various divine lights, profound meanings, and techniques erupted in unison. Brilliant energy rays instantly illuminated the dark plaza. Dense barrages of divine abilities were unleashed, colliding fiercely with the incoming Ancient War Spirits. Deafening explosions rang out one after another, continuous and unending.

Golden light waves, pitch-black demonic energy, alien secret arts, and ancient Daoist methods intertwined and collided. The entire core of the secret realm completely devolved into a tragic battlefield.

Son Goku flashed, instantly soaring into the sky. His azure Super Saiyan aura burned fiercely, and his golden hair danced wildly in the wind. He pressed his palms together, and immense vital energy gathered frantically. An azure energy sphere condensed rapidly in his palms, the terrifying energy fluctuations causing the surrounding air to twist violently.

"Kamehameha!"

As his powerful shout rang out, an azure light wave spanning dozens of zhang blasted forth, hitting three Ancient War Spirits that were lunging side-by-side. The extreme energy erupted instantly, and the violent impact crushed the three remnant souls into a sky full of black mist, dissipating them into nothingness.

However, the Ancient War Spirits poured out from the underground crack in an endless stream. They were impossible to kill or extinguish; no sooner had one wave been defeated than more and stronger spirits followed.

Vegeta hovered high on the other side, his deep blue aura biting and cold, surrounded by several sharp energy blades. His eyes were cold, his expression extremely steady. He had completely shed his usual arrogance and restlessness; every attack was precise and ruthless, without a single bit of energy wasted.

"Final Flash!"

A dazzling white light suddenly bloomed, and a fierce torrent of energy swept across the area, instantly clearing a large swath of war spirits. Yet, his brows remained tightly locked, his gaze vigilantly scanning the entire field, especially fixed on the shadows at the top of the altar.

From beginning to end, that mysterious black shadow that had followed the crowd had stood there quietly. It had not attacked, nor had it moved. It stood silent as a rock, coldly overlooking the slaughter and struggle of everyone below.

The opponent was like an outsider, coldly watching this struggle of ants. This unfathomable depth was far more chilling than the Ancient War Spirits surging madly from the ground.

Lin Chen stood in the air, the golden light of the Dragon Ball origin circulating endlessly around him. The gentle yet immense power constructed a solid protective barrier, isolating all the scattered baleful energy and impacts.

He did not rush to slaughter; instead, he focused on sensing the energy veins of the entire secret realm.

As the Ancient War Spirits continued to rush out, the golden runes on the altar floor lit up faster and faster. The sealing power beneath the earth was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye. Those ancient forbidden seals, which were meant to be shackles suppressing the taboos beneath the earth, were now crumbling inch by inch under the impact of the war spirits.

What made his heart sink even further was his clear realization that these Ancient War Spirits' seemingly crazy and disorderly slaughter actually hid a pattern. They were constantly attacking the nodes of the barrier around the plaza. Every time a node was destroyed, the black mist beneath the earth grew thicker, and the power of the seal grew weaker.

"They aren't breaking out blindly; they are deliberately breaking the seal." Lin Chen whispered, instantly seeing through the truth.

These remnant Ancient War Spirits had lain dormant for eons just for this day. They were using the opportunity of the various powerhouses breaking into the secret realm and stirring up spatial energy to completely shatter the ancient seal and return to the world.

"Everyone, stop just fighting! They are destroying the secret realm's seal!"

Lin Chen shouted, his voice infused with vital energy, spreading across the entire field and instantly reaching the ears of every cultivator.

The people struggling in the bitter battle felt their hearts sink. Subconsciously, they looked up toward the crack at the base of the altar. The crack had already expanded several times over, and the pitch-black abyss was bottomless. An immense aura, far more terrifying than all the war spirits combined, was slowly awakening and rising from the very depths.

That aura was ancient, vast, and domineering, carrying the supreme pressure of one who looked down upon the ages. A mere trace of its leakage caused all the powerhouses in the plaza to stiffen, their blood flow stagnating, making it incredibly difficult to even circulate their cultivation.

The black-robed elder's face turned deathly pale. He staggered back several steps, gasping in horror: "It... it is the remnant body of an ancient fallen Supreme! What is suppressed beneath this Ruins Field is not a mere war spirit; it is the undying remnant soul of a fallen Supreme!"

The sentence was like a thunderclap exploding in everyone's ears.

Supreme!

That was a top-tier powerhouse who stood above World Lords and traversed the ancient Heavens. Even if it were just a wisp of a soul remaining after death, it was definitely not something the cultivators of this age could contend with.

At this moment, everyone fell into complete despair.

The battle, which had barely been stabilized, collapsed instantly. Many fearful cultivators wanted to tear through space and flee the core of the secret realm. However, the entire space of the secret realm had long been sealed by the black mist. The spatial barriers were as hard as iron, and all teleportation and void-traversing secret arts failed. Everyone was trapped in a desperate situation with no way out.

Several giant black shadows, far larger than ordinary war spirits, stepped out from the abyss. Each possessed combat power comparable to a high-level World Lord, and the baleful energy they carried was enough to crush the entire field. The moment they appeared, they instantly severely wounded several top powerhouses.

Screams, explosions, and roars intertwined. Casualties on the plaza increased sharply, blood soaked the divine stones, and the scene was one of utter carnage.

Son Goku and Vegeta exploded with all their might, exhausting their entire combat strength to block the giant war spirits. Even with their peerless power, facing the endless stream of ancient monsters, their breathing gradually became rapid, and their vital energy consumption became increasingly severe. Their battle suits were already torn by the baleful energy and covered in fine wounds.

Lin Chen no longer held back his strength. The Dragon Ball fragment in his palm shone brightly, and the brilliant seven-colored origin power swept over his entire body. He raised his hands to form seals, and the Dragon Ball origin power transformed into ten thousand golden light swords, flying across the sky and precisely slaying the incoming war spirits. At the same time, the origin power permeated the field, protecting the cultivators who were struggling to hold on, temporarily stabilizing the battle that was on the verge of collapse.

Yet, he knew in his heart that this was only a temporary illusion.

The aura of the Supreme remnant soul beneath the earth was becoming clearer, and the seal was crumbling faster and faster. Once the opponent completely broke the seal, no one present would survive.

Just as everyone was trapped in a desperate situation and panic was spreading, the pitch-black figure that had been silent for so long at the top of the altar finally moved.

The slender black shadow stepped slowly out of the darkness. There was no outpouring of majestic aura, no terrifying pressure sweeping across the area; with just a single step, the entire restless black mist instantly froze. The frenzied Ancient War Spirits all stiffened in mid-air, and even the terrifying aura surging from beneath the earth came to a sudden, momentary halt.

Every sound between heaven and earth vanished in an instant, and a deathly silence shrouded the entire plaza of the Secret Realm.

All fighting, all roaring, and all clamor came to an abrupt end.

The pupils of the countless experts present shrank, and they stiffened as they looked up, staring fixedly at the mysterious black shadow.

The figure slowly raised its head, and beneath a blurred visage, a pair of cold, ruthless eyes that seemed to pierce through the ages were revealed. The gaze crossed a hundred meters of void, locking precisely and firmly onto Lin Chen, who stood at the center of the battlefield.

A low, hoarse, and ancient voice, as if it had weathered the vicissitudes of eons, echoed softly between heaven and earth, falling precisely into Lin Chen's ears:

"Reincarnation of the Dragon Ball... the seal of the ages has been broken because of you."

The moment the words fell, a thunderous roar that shook the heavens erupted from the abyss beneath the earth. The final barrier of the seal shattered completely, and a supreme, terrifying aura capable of overturning the entire Heavens Secret Realm broke free from its subterranean cage, erupting into the world!