Talisman Emperor

A thumbnail sized diagram of the door to the secret passageway which was formed from dense and fine markings silently appeared on the surface of the command token.

Chen Xi knew that it was probably the coordinates of the secret passageway to the 7th campsite. However, the coordinates were dim and lusterless right now. Presumably, it could only be activated in around 3 months from now.

Besides that coordinate for teleportation, there was a completely straight groove that sunk down into the back of the command token. It flickered with a blood red glow, and when he investigated it with his consciousness, Chen Xi realized that two Chaotic Markings floated up into appearance within the groove — Battle Merits.

Obviously, it recorded the amount of merits the participating experts obtained from hunting and killing the Dao Defiants.

The Battle Merits could be exchanged for rewards. The greater one's merits were, the greater the rewards would be. These rewards were distributed by the 13 Dao Servants, so they were definitely not ordinary treasures.

Chen Xi wasn't really surprised by this. He'd come to the Spring of Sin for three things. Firstly, to charge into the Daolord Realm. Secondly, to complete the agreement he had with the Chen Clan and take his parents away from the Chen Clan without suffering any obstruction. Thirdly, it was for the sake of further investigating the secrets of Godsbane Heaven.

Chen Xi put it away before he started regulating his energy again in order to attain his best combat state. After that, he circulated the energy of the Daoseal Mark throughout his body, and then he gradually merged into one with his surroundings and started to move forward patiently as he explored this place.

The Order of the Heaven Dao in the Spring of Sin was extremely unique. The sky 3km above him was covered in a terrifying aura of tarnished Order of the Heaven Dao, so it wasn't advisable to fly or teleport at all.

Moreover, his consciousness suffered restraint as well. Even with Chen Xi's enormous and extraordinary consciousness, he was merely able to detect the scenes in an area of around 10km in the surroundings.

All of this predetermined that he could only advance slowly and carefully in the Spring of Sin, and the dangers he faced would skyrocket if he charged forward rashly.

Fortunately, he had the energy of the Daoseal Mark to help him, and it allowed Chen Xi to clearly determine the situation around him even through the thick layer of mist. Nothing could escape his observation, and they were fully revealed down to the slightest detail.

Moreover, the other effect of the Daoseal Mark was that it could completely conceal Chen Xi's aura and tracks, so it was unlikely for others to shadow him.

…

He hadn't travelled forward for long before Chen Xi suddenly heard a sound which sounded like a tree branch snapping. This was extremely unusual in this boundless mist covered forest.

The forest was ancient, desolate, and extremely mysterious and strange. Its ground was covered in an indescribable and unique light violet dirt, and it was practically soundless when one walked on them.

Moreover, there were all sorts of trees and plants in this ancient tree, and they even carried a ferocious aura. They blotted out the entire sky, so walking amidst them was undoubtedly like walking through darkness.

That sound from before could have only been caused by the movement of living beings within this forest, and that living being had stepped on something by accident.

Chen Xi immediately moved silently towards the source of the sound.

A short while later, he stopped around 10km away from the source of that sound and didn't approach further. His figure flashed onto the crown of a tree, and he investigated the area through the numerous layers of leaves before him.

One couldn't question Chen Xi's cautious actions at all because it was very likely for that sound to be a trap. He was at the Spring of Sin right now, and he could be said to be surrounded by enemies and all alone without support. He didn't just have to fight the Dao Defiants, he even had to stay vigilant against the threat that those other participating experts posed and the possibility that they would launch surprise attacks against him.

Chen Xi activated the Daoseal Mark, and his deep black pupils were suffused with a strange and restrained glow. The scenes within his field of vision started to flash by and gradually become clearer. In the blink of an eye, his gaze had locked onto an area that was around 10km away.

A temporary campsite had been set up there, and it was in the form of a tent that covered an area of over 100m. The tent was completely pitch black and dim, and its surface was branded with strange and twisting markings that allowed it to merge into one with the thick grey mist in the surroundings.

The most miraculous part of it was that the tent carried an obscure around it. If one investigated the tent with one's consciousness alone, then one would only be able to notice an expanse of empty mist and would be unable to detect the existence of that tent.

This made Chen Xi's eyes narrow. He was very sure that such tents didn't belong to the Divine Dao Protector Clans. In other words, this campsite definitely belonged to the Dao Defiants.

Chen Xi thought for a moment and flashed down the tree without leaving a trace, and then he continued approaching the tent. He stopped when he was just a little over 6km when he stopped, and then he hid himself above a tree at the side.

This distance allowed Chen Xi to immediately notice clearly that an empty space had been created at the side of the tent, and over 10 figures were patrolling the surroundings.

When he looked carefully, he noticed to his surprise that it was a mixed group of Cerberus and Sin Adjudicators!

Cerberus were a type of living being born within the Spring of Sin. They were shaped like an enormous hound, had three heads, and were extremely violently and bloodthirsty. According to rumor, they were the loyal servants that guarded the home of the Dao Defiants.

Sin Adjudicators were a type of living being that possessed extremely formidable strength. They were no different in shape to humans. Moreover, every single Sin Adjudicator was an elite that had been experienced a strict process of selection, and they were called the guides of the dead.

Just like the various clans in the Primal Chaos Origin, the clans within the Spring of Sin had an extremely strict classification of rank.

For example, the Cerberus Clan was a low rank clan, whereas, the Sin Adjudicators belonged to a mid rank clan.

Chen Xi had obtained a comprehensive understanding of all this information from his father, Chen Lingjun, before he came to participate in the Battle of Dao Protectors. He was even clearly aware of the strategy he should adopt in battle against Cerberus and Sin Adjudicators in order to grab onto their fatal weaknesses and strike a fatal blow.

There were 7 Cerberus and 3 Sin Adjudicators patrolling the campsite in the distance, and it allowed Chen Xi to instantly determine that the existence or existences within the tent were definitely extremely formidable.

This mixed group had clearly been garrisoned here for a long time, and some violent natured Cerberus seemed to be slightly restless. Earlier, it was exactly one of them that had been unable to suppress the restlessness in its heart and smashed a twig on the ground.

After that, a Sin Adjudicator had berated the Cerberus, and only then did that Cerberus calm down.

Meanwhile, an old man in a luxurious robe walked out from within the tent. He spoke a few words to a Sin Adjudicator before he couldn't help but frown, and then he glanced coldly at that Cerberus which had become restless and made the noise.

Obviously, the old man had been alarmed by the sound from before.

"The heretics who have come to start the war this time are the best heretics from the Primal Chaos Origin. If anyone dares to act carelessly again and cause the mission to be obstructed, then they'll be immediately killed without any mercy!" The old man grunted coldly before he turned around with the intention of entering the tent again. Right at this moment, his face sank, and his gaze shot swiftly towards the distance.

However, his head exploded into a bloody mist at the exact same instant he raised his head!

After that, a wave of extremely ear piercing whistling resounded, and then space seemed like paper as numerous extremely terrifying and fierce auras shot over from afar.

In an instant, all the Dao Defiants were shocked. Some of the Cerberus quickly pounced towards the source of the sound while others charged nimbly into the air with the intention of locating the enemy from above.

On the other hand, a jet black yet bloody glow appeared from those three Sin Adjudicators. It transformed into three rays of light and shot explosively towards the spot Chen Xi was hidden at.

However, no matter how swift their reaction was, it couldn't compare to the speed of Chen Xi's sword qi. So, right when they reacted, numerous soundless strands of sword qi that were suffused with an ethereal and misty glow had crisscrossed and arrived in front of them.

Pu! Pu! Pu!

Clump after clump of bloody mist exploded apart at different spots, and it was like a string of fireworks that caused numerous blood red explosions to erupt.

In the blink of an eye, 7 Cerberus and 3 Sin Adjudicators had been slaughtered on the spot!

All of this had occurred too quickly, and the outcome had been decided in an instant.

If one looked carefully, one would notice that the way the Cerberus and Sin Adjudicators died was different.

Only a single bloody hole had been pierced through the center of the head that resided in the middle of every single Cerberus' head.

It was the spot where the Cerberus converged their energy, and it was equally important as the region within the body of Region Lords, so its destruction meant certain death.

On the other hand, if one tried to chop off the three heads of the Cerberus, then one would discover that their heads could be regrown incessantly!

As for the Sin Adjudicators, the center of their chests had been blasted open because their souls and Ancestral Blood resided there. Hitting that spot was equivalent to certain death for them.

Of course, while it seemed easy in writing or speech, it was utterly impossible to accomplish it with such ease without Chen Xi's combat strength that far surpassed them.

Because regardless of whether it was the 7 Cerberus of the 3 Sin Adjudicators, all of their combat strengths were merely around the First Star to the Third Star of the Region Lord Realm.

So, dealing with such fellows was simply beyond easy for Chen Xi.

Even the old man in a luxurious robe from before had merely possessed a combat strength equivalent to a Fifth Star Region Lord. Perhaps such a combat strength would allow the old man to be a world shocking and great figure in the outside world, but he was nothing in Chen Xi's eyes.

This was the enormous gap in their strengths.

Blood suffused the air yet there wasn't another trace of movement from the tent. Chen Xi waited for a long time before he drifted down from the tree he was hiding on and strode over.

However, he'd merely traversed a distance of less than 30m when he suddenly stopped moving, and then he glanced at the distant campsite with surprise and bewilderment. After that, he didn't hesitate to swiftly transform into an indistinct shadow that flashed towards the distance.

Bang!

At practically the exact same time, the originally deathly silent tent suddenly exploded apart, and then a blood red pillar shot into the sky.

At the same time, a strand black altar appeared where the tent once stood.

The altar merely covered an area of 30m. It was completely pitch black and faintly tainted by a dark red glow. Moreover, this ancient altar's surface was inscribed with dense and twisting markings.

At this moment, the blood red pillar that shot into the sky had been emanated from the center of the altar.

Om!

In next to no time, a mighty and dazzling blood red caped figure appeared there. He was around 10m tall, handsome, and refined. However, his countenance was ghastly pale. Besides that, his pupils were scarlet red like gems of blood, and his skin was suffused with a glistening and gentle blood red glow.

He was like an emperor that had been born from an ancient pool of blood as he stood there, and his aura was monstrous and terrifying.

After he appeared, numerous figures appeared from within the blood red pillar of light at the center of the altar. It was a huge and dense mass of figures that surged out boundlessly like tidewater.

If Chen Xi were still here, he would definitely be able to discern that there weren't just Cerberus and Sin Adjudicators amongst that dense expanse of figures emerging from the altar. There were Devil Spiders, Souleaters, Sin Executioners, Bloodsuckers, and various other formidable descendants of the clans in the Spring of Sin.

Especially that handsome man who was covered in a blood red glow and possessed a monstrous imposing aura. Surprisingly, he was a descendant of the high rank Bloodsoul Clan!