Chapter 421: Armageddon for the Wu Clan
“Arrange for them to be in the outer ring and send a
contingent of royal experts to protect them!” Wu Tan could only compromise with
this solution in the end.
It wouldn’t quite be giving up on them with this expression
of intent.
However, he was well aware that this choice actually meant
that he was giving up on them.
Indeed, when news of this spread, discontent had spread
among those who were outside. This was just fobbing them off!
“This won’t do! This is something that the father and son
duo instigated, why are we becoming the scapegoat?”
“Indeed! That newcomer has said that all will be fine as
long as we hand over Wu Hong! Wu Hong has always been a troublemaker and now
he’s brought about great trouble for the Wu family. Why is it that we do not
have the heart to hand over such a trouble maker?”
“Give up Wu Hong!”
“Yes, we request to see His Majesty and we demand that Wu
Hong is to be handed over!”
Many people had been unsatisfied when Wu Hong had been made
crown prince. The princes who had the right to compete with him were even more
filled with noble indignation.
Although their backgrounds weren’t as lofty as Wu Hong’s,
but they were all royal sons and born of royal concubines as well. They were
all toeing the same battle lines at the moment, and speaking out to condemn Wu
Hong.
They felt that Wu Hong had been the one who brought disaster
to the Wu clan!
No one would have to die as long as they handed Wu Hong
over.
The protests outside became louder and traveled into the
bedchambers.
Wu Tan’s face was livid. They were already in such disarray
before the enemy at the gates had fought their way in. At this rate, the Wu
clan would collapse altogether even before the enemy hacked their way in.
Wu Hong cursed loudly, “These traitorous parasites! Royal
father, please allow me to lead the men and kill some of their leaders. Let’s
see if they will still dare to kick up a fuss then!”
“Wu Hong, you blasted coward, get the hell out here now!”
“Troublemaker! You’ve pushed the royal family into a fire
pit and now you don’t dare own up to what you’ve done?”
“Come out yourself if you’re a man! Offer yourself up for
redemption!”
The curses outside grew ever louder.
“We’re all royal children and relatives, why is it that he
can hide inside after causing trouble, but we innocent folk have to take the
blame for him outside?”
“Your Majesty, you can’t be this biased!”
“Hmph, majesty? Perhaps this matter has something to do with
His Majesty! Maybe he’s feeling guilty now himself!”
“I already said long ago that there’d be trouble sooner or
later with this father and son in power!”
The situation was spiraling out of control, and the
criticism had shifted from Wu Hong to the king now.
Wu Tan flicked an eyebrow and hardened his heart, giving an
order to a royal expert captain. “Go, take a group of men and kill the loudest
protesters. If they still protest after the first round, then execute the
entire bunch of those pilfering traitors!”
The hearts of rulers were rocky or as hard as iron.
Those protesting outside were his sons, his brothers, his
relatives, and his women.
But once they’d crossed his bottom line, there was only one
ending for them—death.
The sounds outside changed to rounds of howls and screams
after the execution order was given.
“Wu Tan, you actually dared to lay hands on your own son!
You have crazed and cracked brains, the heavens will surely smite you!”
“Fatuous ruler, I’ll come get you and your son even as a
ghost!”
“What’s happening in front of you is karma for the crimes
that you and your son have committed!”
Wu Tan grew frenetic as he gave another order, “Kill. Kill
them all!”
An insane light also dawned in Wu Hong’s eyes. He waved his
fists around, “What are you all standing there for? My royal father has given
you an order, so kill them all!”
When the royal experts made their moves, those helpless
royal offspring and relatives naturally had no way to resist.
After a while, the sounds of protest gave way to complete
and utter silence..
The royal experts walked back in, with their blades still
dripping blood. They reported back in with heavy hearts.
A derisive laugh traveled in from the air at this time. “Wu
Tan, you actually took it upon yourself to take action and didn’t need me at
all. You’ve exterminated your own clan with your own hands. How very well
done!”
“Hearken to me, all the followers who are inside. This matter
has nothing to do with you. I only want Wu Tan and his son. Leave them
immediately if you want to live. I will only give you 15 minutes to make your
decision. Those who stubbornly resist after 15 minutes will all be killed!”
This ultimatum were like words from the underworld that
hastened death. They hung heavily over the heads of those assembled, making all
of their faces ashen and the color of dirt.
They had lost all morale now that things had progressed to
this extent now. They had only stayed here out of trained instinct.
Even the four great champions had been decimated in one
move. As strong as the royal experts they may be, how could they possibly match
up to the four champions?
Wu Tan and his son had discarded even their own kin at
critical moments, so what made them, the mere guards they are, indispensable to
them?
Wu Tan hastened to say when he saw the situation, “Don’t
listen to his evil doctrine. It will be a great accomplishment as long as we
can wait until the Purple Sun Sect reinforcements have arrived. This kid surely
lacks the ability to just charge in. Otherwise, why would he have wasted so
much time in blathering on outside?”
“Right, we must stay united in a time like this. This kid
will be like a fish in a barrel once the sect experts arrive. When that
happens, only death awaits him!” Wu Hong also spoke up in encouragement.
However, no matter how the father and son duo acted, they
couldn’t raise the morale back from the dead at all.
It was obvious that the situation had become awkwardly
frozen after the Wu clan had been slaughtered.
Fifteen minutes passed by quickly.
Soon, successive screams of agony came in from outside.
“Your Majesty, Vice Commander Zhang of the palace guards has
died in an ambush!”
“Your Majesty, Captain He has gone missing!”
What had happened before now repeated itself. Tragic wails
rose and fell as a radius of several thousand meters became a living hell.
News of deaths and experts going missing in action
continuously traveled in from those guarding the outside perimeter.
“I’ve already given you an opportunity, and I will give you
one last chance. Hand over Wu Tan and his son and you will live. Otherwise, my
next wave of attack will leave you all dead without a resting place. Remember,
this is the final ultimatum!”
Jiang Chen’s detached voice once again echoed throughout the
entire palace, bringing with it an unquestionable dignity.
His words were now an infallible law, no one dared suspect
it.
In that moment, Wu Tan and Wu Hong only felt all the eyes
around them sparkle immensely with a wicked light.
Wu Tan’s face darkened. “What? A few threats are enough to
scare you to such an extent? Do you want to commit the crime of treason?”
“Hmph! My royal father is an elder of the Purple Sun Sect.
Even if you do manage to survive this precarious situation by handing us over,
will the Purple Sun Sect condone your actions?”
The royal experts were all hesitating. Their desire to live
truly triumphed over their notions of loyalty at the moment.
They had also formed strong doubts about Wu Tan’s character
when he had ordered them to kill his royal kin.
Suddenly, one of the cultivators called out, “We’re all dead
if we don’t hand over this father and son pair. If we hand them over, we can
make use of this time to escape the Shangyang Kingdom. I’ve had enough of being
their lapdog!”
“Right! This father and son is devoid of loyalty and morals
that they could kill even their family! Won’t they take revenge on us
afterwards? Everyone, get them!”
“That’s right, we shall all work together to get them and
flee after the deed’s done! Even though the Purple Sun Sect’s strength is
undeniable, the world is thus vast, where will they go to capture us?”
What one feared most in situations like these was that no
one would step forth to sound the call.
Once someone took the lead, it would instantly ignite
similar thoughts and enthusiasm from others.
“Come on! Kill both father and son! It’ll be better than
being killed by Jiang Chen anyhow!”
“Kill them, kill them, kill them!!! Kill that dog of a
father and son!”
The royal experts had all been forced up a wall. Add to that
the father and son’s usual overly violent methods in managing their underlings,
and their inhumane treatments of them in critical moments, emotions were
running high and fully erupted at this time.
Wu Tan was strong, but there were limits to his strength.
His scalp grew numb when he was faced with the swarming of hundreds of royal
experts.
He grabbed Wu Hong, “Let’s go!”
They shot through the air and made for the outer perimeter.
“The shit king’s getting away! After him!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
It was obviously too much for Wu Tan to abruptly face spirit
realm cultivators, but he had confidence in escaping from a place like this.
He broke free from the large numbers of experts attempting
to encircle him with a few leaps and bounds, arriving in a small garden. He
lifted up a section of the floorboards and revealed a long passageway.
“Hong’er, you go first, I’ll bring up the rear!”
Wu Hong was willing to flee into any path in his panic, and
he immediately jumped down into the passageway.
He suddenly screamed in horror and scrambled out, wearing an
expression like he’d seen a ghost.
“Rats, rats, so many rats!” Wu Hong’s face was ashen as he
stammered.
There were countless numbers of golden colored rats in the
passageway, piling out as endlessly as a geyser.
“How goes it, Wu Tan, Wu Hong? How does it feel to be
deserted by your followers?”
Jiang Chen’s silhouette came diving down from the sky at
this moment. He stood on an eave of the roof with crossed arms, looking down at
the bedraggled father and son from his vantage point, his eyes full of mockery.
A violent light pierced out of Wu Tan’s eyes as he rasped
out, “Jiang Chen, must you go this far? Have you thought that your actions
today are utterly putting you against the Purple Sun Sect? You might exult in
your slaughter today, but won’t you worry about the Purple Sun Sect knocking on
your doorstep tomorrow?”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “When you and your son
slaughtered the Jiang clan and the Hall of Healing, did you ever think that
someone would punish you for each of these crimes you committed?”
“Jiang Chen, we were only following orders. The amount of Wu
clan members you’ve killed have long since exceeded the numbers of Jiang clan
members who’ve died at my hands. Why don’t you go and seek revenge on the
Purple Sun Sect if you’ve the guts to!” Wu Hong roared furiously.
“Purple Sun Sect?” Jiang Chen snorted coldly. “I’ll
naturally be visiting them eventually, or they might even show up here quite
soon. However, the two of you are the chief offenders. Did you think that you
would be able to avoid death just by flapping your tongue and lips? Not on your
life!”
He pounced with a flash of golden light after he finished
speaking.
Bam, bam!
Wu Tan thrust out his two palms and connected solidly with
Jiang Chen. An enormous surge of power invaded his spirit ocean, making Wu Tan
open his mouth and causing a great mouthful of blood to spew forward.
Jiang Chen had slapped him down with two indifferent blows.
“I have you now. I’m going to personally behead these two in
the skies above the Shangyang Kingdom so as to awe and frighten all those who
live within this kingdom!”
When he ordinarily took no action, he was calm and kept a
low profile, but he would shock all those present and take the limelight as
soon as he did take action. He would make it so that all those in the Shangyang
Kingdom would have nightmares whenever they thought of him, Jiang Chen.
Only then would people think about the consequences before
taking actions against him in the future.
High up in the skies above the capital, Wu Tan and Wu Hong
were being dragged about by two Goldwing Swordbirds as if they were dead dogs.
They're were being hung high up in the sky and paraded in all directions.
Countless citizens fixed their attention on the lofty ruler
and crown prince of a nation suspended in mid air.
The royal clan of the Shangyang Kingdom had suddenly
collapsed, like a skyscraper had come crashing down, and the prestige that they
had built in the general populace also instantly tumbled.
“Wu Tan and his son have killed my kin and annihilated my
clan. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! Today, I will slaughter only the
Wu clan. Those of this kingdom should take heed from their demise!”
Jiang Chen’s voice rang out from all corners in the capital.
A shout roared from thin air at this moment. “Crooked Jiang
Chen, how dare you act thus atrociously? Hand over your life!”
“Jiang Chen, you’re a sect disciple, yet have embroiled
yourself in the conflicts of the secular world. You must die!”
“Jiang Chen, I will settle with you today the accounts of
killing my disciples! Die!”
The voices were each more resonant and domineering than the
last. The senior executives of the Purple Sun Sect had descended on the
Shangyang Kingdom, accompanied with a vast amount of experts!
Chapter 422: The Might of the Evil Golden Eye
A patch of red clouds swiftly churned over from the northern
skies.
The redness heralded the arrival of the Purple Sun Sect.
Master Shuiyue was leading the group at the front with a one-eyed elder on her
left, and a silver-haired elder on her right. It looked that both their
statuses were lower than Master Shuiyue and were here as her helpers.
There were a thousand fully armored sect law enforcement
disciples behind them. Judging from their postures, they were all earth spirit
realm cultivators.
Furthermore, there were ten golden-clad captains in this
thousand strong group, all of them at the seventh level spirit realm. Overall,
this was quite a strong group.
Astonishing light shot out from Jiang Chen’s God’s Eye as he
peered into the distance, inspecting the arrivals.
He motioned his hand and the million strong Swordbird army
immediately shifted to action. They shot down from the clouds and blotted out
the sky, as if a meteor shower.
“Set up the formation!”
Jiang Chen’s consciousness spread out as the army formed the
Eight Trigrams Assimilation Formation in the skies of the Shangyang Kingdom
under the leadership of the Goldwing Swordbirds.
Jiang Chen charged out in front, placing himself at the tip
of the formation.
The two Goldwing Swordbirds that the Wu father and son were
dangling off of circled in front of Jiang Chen, in an obviously display of
force.
Gouyu was slightly surprised when she saw the Purple Sun
Sect’s intimidating aura. But when her eyes traveled to Jiang Chen’s face, she
noticed that he was calm and at ease. And although unsure why, she was greatly
reassured.
A thought of absolute security grew in her mind at that
moment—even the strongest opponent wasn’t frightening as long as Jiang Chen was
here.
It was rather Huang’er who’d at all times remained
noncommittal. Not the slightest bit of emotional ripple could be seen from her.
It was as if the large display and fuss that the Purple Sun Sect was kicking up
didn’t exist at all.
This privately surprised Gouyu. Although Miss Huang’er
looked delicate and fragile, who would’ve thought that she’d be so steady and
reserved at this critical moment?
Gouyu rather berated herself a bit for this and quietly
encouraged herself.
Xue Tong and the five personal guards were also all riding
on Goldwing Swordbirds, fanning out in a line behind Jiang Chen. This was the
first time they were witnessing a scene like this, and although they found it a
bit hard to breathe from nervousness, they were also extremely excited.
They all shared similar thoughts. The young master himself
isn’t afraid, then what do we guards have to fear?
When they thought about being able follow the young master
to Purple Sun Sect’s territory and stand up against it as equals, just this
experience alone was enough for them to recount over and over again for the
rest of their lives.
“Master Shuiyue, save me and my son!”
Wu Tan who was dangling in midair utterly helpless feltand
completely overjoyed to see Purple Sun Sect reinforcements arrive as he cried.
He kept crying out for help.
Wu Hong also shouted, “Three elders, I, Wu Hong, am
completely loyal to the Purple Sun Sect…”
“Shut up!” Raging fury flashed through Master Shuiyue’s
beautiful eyes.
The passage of time hadn’t left any noticeable crevices on
her attractive face, but the fury was currently very apparent on it.
She didn’t care at all about the Wu father and son’s lives.
She only had Jiang Chen in her sights, and only one desire,
killing Jiang Chen!
“Gentlemen, that the wicked Jiang Chen has emerged from the
Eternal Spirit Mountain likely means that his cultivation level has improved again.
We must work together and kill him in front of the formation. Should he escape,
it will be much more difficult to kill him the next time we meet!”
The one-eyed elder snorted derisively, killing intent
exploding out on his face. “This brat has set himself up as the enemy of our
sect time and time again. Where will the face of the elders of the sect be if
we don’t finish him off today?”
The silver-haired elder also nodded sternly, “We must kill
him!”
These three were all ninth level spirit realm elders of the
Purple Sun Sect. Master Shuiyue’s cultivation level was the highest, as she was
only one step away from the title of spirit king.
The other two had roughly equal strength.
Their combined might this time was second only to forefather
Sunchaser!
If it wasn’t for Sunchaser having yet to emerge from
closed-door cultivation, he surely would’ve been here himself given his hatred
of Jiang Chen.
However, three great elders and a thousand elite law
enforcement disciples was already a strong enough force.
Master Shuiyue arched her delicate eyebrows as killing
intent danced on her charming features again. “Jiang Chen, the heavenly troops
of my Purple Sun Sect are here. Today will be the day you die!”
“Heavenly troops?” Jiang Chen laughed heartily as his tone
turned frosty. “How dare a mere Purple Sun Sect, not knowing the extent of the
heavens and earth, call themselves heavenly troops? Fine! Shuiyue, you
suppressed me multiples times in the Eternal Spirit Mountain, today is the day
of reckoning!”
The one-eyed elder gave a long whistle as he raised a large
axe. The axe sparkled faintly with the glint of blood, appearing eerily
grotesque.
“Jiang Chen, you publicly invaded a secular kingdom today as
a sect disciple. Don’t think of leaving here alive even with ten sets of
mouths!”
“Invade?” Jiang Chen laughed in his anger. “When your Purple
Sun Sect invaded the Eastern Kingdom, slaughtered the Hall of Healing, and
annihilated my Jiang clan, did you think it was invasion then? Do you think
you’re the only one allowed to your actions and that I am forbidden to
reciprocate? Stop wasting time flapping your lips. It’s best that you’ve come
here to meet your deaths. You’re saving me a trip to the Purple Sun Sect!”
“Crazed arrogance!”
The one-eyed elder was called Elder Long Luo, and his axe
was called the Dragonslayer Battle Axe—a nine times refined spirit weapon.
“Master Shuiyue, I request to take the field.”
Master Shuiyue’s beautiful eyes flickered as she nodded.
“Elder Long Luo, be careful of this brat’s wily ways!”
The one-eyed elder waved his axe and locked onto Jiang Chen,
“Jiang Chen you petty villain, dare you meet me in battle?”
The immense strength of the ninth level spirit realm surged
out in a domineering and imposing fashion, as if waters from a collapsing dam,
leaving none behind!
“Ninth level spirit realm!”
A hint of a smile played about Jiang Chen’s lips. If he
possessed the level of strength he’d had when he killed Long Juxue, then it
would be a bit difficult for him to face off against ninth level spirit realm.
However, he had been training diligently in the Eternal
Spirit Mountain and his strength had increased immensely. His current strength
was only one step away from ninth level spirit realm.
Although he’d yet to take that final step, the trump cards
and divine arts he possessed on himself weren’t anything that an ordinary ninth
level cultivator could compare to.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Jiang Chen would
be able to contend with even a spirit king cultivator.
“Young master, this person’s strength is enormous and we
cannot meet him with force. What if we send forth the Swordbird army and take
advantage of the ensuing chaos to claim victory?” Gouyu suggested.
She was third level spirit realm now and could feel the
enormous pressure of ninth level spirit realm from afar. It was absolutely
beyond her comprehension.
Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed into a slit as he gazed ahead.
His lips suddenly move as he displayed a hint of a jeering smile. “Fight with
you? And who the hell are you to have the right to fight with me?”
Jiang Chen’s God’s Eye suddenly opened as soon as he’d
finished speaking. A golden beam of splendor suddenly shot forth in
magnificence, like the blazing sun gracing the sky, and flew straight forward.
Elder Long Luo sneered. “You little animal are so cocky,
huh? Is it that you want to compete in terms of aura with a ninth level spirit
realm?”
The one-eyed elder cackled. How would he possibly bow in
defeat? He stared fixedly at Jiang Chen with his single eye, circulating his spirit
ocean with all his might and transmuting it to pressure in the form of spirit
power, sending it towards Jiang Chen.
Their gazes met.
Elder Long’s gaze trembled all over as if he experienced
suddenly falling into an icy cavern. The palpitation from the depths of his
soul that came next numbed his entire body.
“This is bad!” Elder Long’s heart sank as he sensed
something was amiss. However, his single eye had been locked down by Jiang
Chen’s Evil Golden Eye, and he couldn’t turn away no matter what.
As the two of them fought in the air, the strong force
behind the Evil Golden Eye had already pierced through the glabella after
traveling through the air.
Pfft!
Elder Long’s body suddenly stiffened as his expression
stiffened. With his mouth agape and his eyes wide-open, his lashes even
flickered a few times, but he didn’t have the strength to even close his eyes.
Next, his limbs, torso, and entire body seemed to become as
heavy as lead. As if they’d been frozen in place by some power, they grew numb
and then stilled.
This change was finished in the span of a few breaths.
It was only when his body formed a faint, golden hue that Master
Shuiyue and the other silver-haired elder finally realized that something was
wrong, their expressions changing greatly.
“Long Luo, what’s wrong?” The silver-haired elder was
astonished and bounded forward to investigate.
He was utterly flabbergasted by what he saw.
When he touched Elder Long’s body, it was as hard as metal,
as if the latter had been coated with metal.
“What… what’s going on?” The silver-haired elder had seem
much in his life, but it was the first time he’d seen this bizarre
circumstance.
He was so startled that he hastily retracted his hand, as if
afraid that this condition was contagious. He slunk back to Master Shuiyue and
said lowly, “Master, Long Luo seems to have been hit with an evil art and his
body is as hard as iron.”
“Impossible!”
Master Shuiyue had never heard of such bizarre occurrence
either and came forward to take a look.
She was also aghast with horror when she saw.
Elder Long had been frozen in that moment, his two hands
still holding his Dragonslayer Battle Axe, but his expression was frozen in an
incredibly eerie fashion. His single eye seemed like it had gazed upon the most
terrifying thing in the world, and the fear in his eye was completely written
all over his face.
His breathing was so faint that it was almost nonexistent.
Master Shiuyue was indeed stronger than Elder Long, but not
by much. Seeing that the latter had somehow unconsciously fallen victim to an
evil art, her scalp tingled with numbness for a short moment.
“Jiang Chen!”
Hatred blazed out of Master Shuiyue’s eyes. She guessed that
this matter had likely something to do with that dumb swine!
She gnashed her teeth and gave a long howl.
This howl shocked the heavens and moved the earth, unceasing
and endless as great changes roiled over the sky.
Those in the Swordbird army closest to her all spontaneously
exploded and fell down from the howl.
Jiang Chen snorted softly. “Old woman, stop your useless
caterwauling. The Shangyang Kingdom will be your grave!”
Master Shuiyue hated the words “old woman” most of all.
Her originally charming and elegant face had become twisted
in her anger.
“Jiang Chen, I swear I wouldn’t be human if I don’t kill you
today!”
Master Shuiyue’s rage burned so intensely that even all the
water in heaven wouldn’t quench it.
Various scenes of humiliation flashed through her mind. It
was because of Jiang Chen’s appearance that she had fallen down from the peak
of her life to where she was now.
All of this had been because of that damnable secular brat!
Master Shuiyue erupted in the following moment.
Chapter 423: One VS Two is Still a Trampling
“Silverroc, this dumb swine is crafty and full of guile. We
can only seek to render a meritorious deed for the sect and kill this criminal.
Forget all notions of identity, concern, and rules. You and I will work
together to kill this petty thief!” Even when incensed, Master Shuiyue still
hadn’t lost her sense of reason.
Elder Long’s bizarre downfall had put her on her guard even
in her great anger.
She recalled that no matter how well prepared she’d been in
the past, she’d always been the one worse off when she faced Jiang Chen.
He Yan had been crippled in his fight against Jiang Chen.
Hai Tian’s match had been in a carefully selected ring, but
he’d ended up dead.
In Long Juxue’s match, the one in which he surely would’ve
died, it’d been Long Juxue who’d been cleaved into two in the end.
Elder Long had been brimming with confidence before he’d
taken the field just now, but had turned into a sculpture in the blink of an
eye. They hadn’t even found the reason why yet.
The battle strength of the silver robed elder was roughly on
par with Elder Long.
He also knew that Jiang Chen was now the Purple Sun Sect’s
prime enemy. If this person wasn’t eliminated, there would be endless trouble
in the future.
Therefore, even with Elder Long’s ghastly condition in front
of them, he still proceeded forward out of a sense of obligation.
He grasped the air with both hands and a pair of silver,
sharp claws appeared on his hands. He bared his fangs and brandished his claws,
giving off an exceedingly fierce feeling.
“There is nothing that cannot be forsaken in a fight for the
sect. I, Silverroc, am willing to put my life on the line to slay this knave
and clear away trouble from the path of my Purple Sun Sect!”
Master Shuiyue was gladdened to see Silverroc’s stern battle
intent.
She had a much surer chance of succeeding with both of them
attacking together.
She sent a message with her consciousness, “Law enforcement
disciples, hold the formation for me and Elder Silverroc. If the opponent sends
forth the spirit fowl in battle, cover us immediately!”
“Understood!” These disciples were all deathsworn from the
sect, and as such, there was no doubt about their loyalty at all.
Jiang Chen gave a long laugh when he saw them murmuring, “No
need for private murmurings, Shuiyue. Both of you can come at once if you’re
scared. What have I to be afraid of?”
How would Jiang Chen not be able to tell that this Master
Shuiyue was plotting a group fight?
He flipped his hand over and brought out a long bone from
the Redscaled Firelizard. This bone was the Firelizard’s dragon bone, the
strongest and most durable part of its body.
Its durability had increased even more after Jiang Chen’s
simple refinement.
The Firelizard had been a saint rank creature to begin with.
Its base strength was already greater than a nine times refined spirit weapon
and on the same level as an origin spirit weapon.
Having undergone a simple refinement, the bone would be able
to put up a fight even when it met mid tier origin spirit weapons in battle.
Jiang Chen didn’t dare take things lightly this time. He was
meeting the combined blows of two ninth level spirit realm cultivators. This
was why he’d brought out the Firelizard dragon bone.
This unassuming weapon was enough to give wings to a tiger
in battle.
Jiang Chen stood there with an aura of invincible
magnificence as he wielded the bone club, and ordered, “Gouyu, hold the
formation for me and keep an eye on those troops.”
“Young master, you’re fighting one against two. Do you…”
Although Gouyu was flabbergasted by Jiang Chen’s strength, she still wasn’t
willing for him to meet the dual attacks from Master Shuiyue and Elder
Silverroc by himself.
Jiang Chen gave a hearty laugh. “No worries!”
His Goldwing Swordbird dived as he finished speaking,
letting Jiang Chen land on the ground.
“Jiang Chen, you have no idea of the immensity of the world
and dared to be enemies with my Purple Sun Sect. You’re courting death!” Elder
Silverroc brandished his claws after he finished his proclamation and pounced.
Master Shuiyue also coordinated with him as she turned her
hands over and transformed a simple and unsophisticated rune into a cloud of
white light, a cloud that spread into the sky and came crushing down.
The white light flashed and materialized into a small
mountain of ice that plummeted from above.
The temperature around Jiang Chen suddenly sank a dozen
degrees.
A layer of frost formed upon all the grass and trees in his
surroundings.
Jiang Chen was also slightly astonished. Master Shuiyue had
had such a strong rune in her possession? The power of ice and snow within it
were much stronger than the azure phoenix freezing qi that Long Juxue had
originally possessed.
Master Shuiyue certainly deserved her widespread reputation,
alright.
Long Juxue had leveraged her innate constitution to deploy a
freezing qi that was indeed impressive, but she’d only just set foot into
seventh level spirit realm.
Master Shuiyue however, was of the ninth level spirit realm
and had deep foundations. This was absolutely not something that a young genius
like Long Juxue could measure up to!
The small mountain of ice appeared all the more eye piercing
as sunlight glinted off it.
If Jiang Chen’s strength had halted at what it’d been when
he’d killed Long Juxue, then he would only be able to sit and wait for death at
the moment.
But the current Jiang Chen was no longer the Jiang Chen of
yesteryear.
Red light exploded out of his God’s Eye as twelve ice lotus
vines instantly surged forth from around him. They slowed down the ice
mountain, slowly becoming twelve proudly standing columns holding up the sky.
The enormous lotus flowers blossomed, akin to the mouths of
twelve voracious gluttons, biting down deeply into the iceberg like the suction
cups on a leech.
The Ice Lotus was a divine level spirit entity, and such an
immensely strong power of ice was naturally a beautiful meal for them.
The twelve ice lotus vines were like twelve meridians as
they quickly absorbed the ice elemental power.
On the ground, Jiang Chen himself blurred into a flaming
meteor and charged straight forward.
Clang!
An awful collision rang out when his bone club connected
with Elder Silverroc’s claws.
Ripples from the violent impact spread out in all
directions.
Elder Silverroc felt his hand go numb between his thumb and
index finger as his chest also felt stifled. He was greatly shocked, “This dumb
swine’s strength is this domineering? He could actually take one of my blows
with his level of cultivation, and looked quite at ease while doing so?”
The elder’s bloodthirsty tendencies were provoked
immediately by Jiang Chen’s blow.
He grimaced, “Kid, take a few more hits from my claws!”
He shook his arms as the enormous claws seemed to meld into
his arms. He leapt into the air and flared his spirit power, making it form a
giant silver roc in the air.
With a low whistle, Elder Silverroc glided down in perfect
form, his arms breaking through the air with overbearing momentum and clawing
down fiercely at Jiang Chen.
This blow had set aside all the fancy embellishments of
profound mysteries and was drawing in Jiang Chen for close quarter combat.
When Jiang Chen saw that he’d melded the weapon into his
arms and become one with it, he knew that these claws must certainly be quite
impressive, something that the elder was proud of.
The more that this was the case, the more that Jiang Chen’s
battle intent and manly demeanor would provoke doubt in him.
You think you’re strong? I’m going to destroy you when you
think you’re in peak condition and rout everything you’re most proud of!
Jiang Chen rose up, grasping the Firelizard bone club with
both hands and abruptly sent it smashing down on the enormous claws with no
flourishes whatsoever.
Elder Silverroc leered when he saw this. “Trying to compete
in terms of durability with my silver rock claws? Break!”
The pair of enormous claws was a nine times refined spirit
weapon to begin with. Add to that the elder’s use of secret arts to meld it
with his arms, the durability of the claws had surpassed all spirit weapons and
was now a half step origin spirit weapon.
“I think not!” Jiang Chen roared lowly as he increased the
strength of his arms. Boundless metal essence power instantly assimilated into
the bone club.
Bam!
Another violent collision gave rise to endless ripples and
created an vortex in the air that shot up to the sky. The aftershocks churned
up all the sand, dirt, and rocks as well as snapped all trees and grass.
Clank!
Elder Silverroc suddenly heard a crisp breaking sound.
A heart wrenching pain suddenly travelled from his arms.
Faint lines actually appeared on the enormous claws on his
arms in the next moment. The patterns and symbols that had been inscribed on
their appearance had all been destroyed.
Every time a spirit weapon was refined, the refiner would
meld their formation seals into the weapon. They would allow the strength
behind the patterns inscribed on the weapons to be fully used.
Therefore, the more times a spirit weapon was refined, the
higher its quality.
Silverroc was very confident in his pair of enormous claws.
He’d wanted to catch Jiang Chen’s blow, wrench his defenses apart, and then
reach out a claw to rip Jiang Chen open from chest to stomach.
However, he’d never thought that his half step origin spirit
weapon would be shattered by Jiang Chen’s unassuming short club!
His momentary distraction resulted in another blow from
Jiang Chen’s club coming straight at his face.
Without his claws, Silverroc was a declawed vicious beast
when facing an attack from such close quarters. His expression immediately and
drastically changed.
The momentum of this bone club was extraordinarily fast, to
the point where he felt that he would be unable to evade it.
“Take my sword, scum!”
Master Shuiyue had been waiting behind and building up
momentum for a blow. The long sword in her hand transformed into a streak of
light and flew in, stabbing straight for Jiang Chen’s back.
This stroke boasted an unparalleled speed and was the full
strength blow of a ninth level spirit realm cultivator.
However, Jiang Chen had his own plans in mind as well. He
knew that the best way to break through a dual attack from two sides was to
kill one of them first.
So although Master Shuiyue’s stroke was strong, Jiang Chen
still had the ability to defend himself.
But if he didn’t kill Elder Silverroc, Jiang Chen would land
in a disadvantageous situation when he was attacked from behind and front.
Jiang Chen activated the lotus when his thoughts traveled
here.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Vine upon vine shot forth from the ground like spring bamboo
bursting through the ground after the spring rains.
The vines could be pliable yet stiff, and were currently
acting as various ropes to weave into a net, hurtling towards Master Shuiyue to
entrap her.
If Master Shuiyue resolutely followed through with her
stroke, then she would surely be bound by these vines.
She suddenly recalled Long Juxue’s death.
Long Juxue had been entrapped by these vines and had
instantly lost her ability to fight, resulting in her being hacked into two.
She grit her teeth and retracted the momentum of her strike,
pulling her blade back to defend her vitals and backing up a dozen or so
meters.
Jiang Chen seemed to have anticipated her as his bone club
didn’t hesitate at all, continuing its forward motion.
Elder Silverroc had no place to run to. He could only use
his broken claws to block the blow.
Bambambambam!
The club descended more than ten times as Elder Silverroc
could only take the blows as if he was a punching bag. He spewed out great
mouthfuls of blood.
“Master, go! Go get the forefather!”
Elder Silverroc fell down with a bang, reminding Master
Shuiyue to hurry and escape.
In the moment before his death, Silverroc realized that
Jiang Chen’s strength was enough to destroy them all right here!
In the entire Purple Sun Sect, likely only the forefather
could suppress this person’s strength. He was absolutely at the level of spirit
king.
It would be a fatal disaster if he was allowed to continue
to develop!
Chapter 424: Eradicating Shuiyue, Enraging Sunchaser
Master Shuiyue regained her focus when she heard the gasp of
a near dead Elder Silverroc. Helplessness rose unabated in her heart. She
couldn’t believe that Jiang Chen had improved so quickly!
The secular brat who’d been almost killed by Chu Xinghan in
front of the Second Crossing so few years ago had progressed so rapidly? He’d
killed two of the three ninth level spirit realm cultivators facing him in
almost the blink of an eye!
And now, her life was in danger as well.
A trace of regret truly flashed through her heart at this
moment.
She suddenly felt that she’d paid too much of a price for
one Long Juxue. She even had to pay the price of her life now!
“Shuiyue, you took part in slaughtering my clan and seizing
the Hall of Healing, didn’t you?”
Jiang Chen turned to advance on Master Shuiyue now that he’d
killed Elder Silverroc.
The bone club in his hand had unerringly locked onto Master
Shuiyue.
Master Shuiyue’s face was drained of all color. Her eyes
roared back to life again after regret flashed by, displaying a crazed look.
“Jiang Chen, I admit that you’re a genius, but so what? Today, I will perish
together with you!”
Perish together?
Jiang Chen snorted derisively, his eyes forming the Evil
Golden Eye again. The golden light shot forth violently as it locked onto
Master Shuiyue’s consciousness.
The Evil Golden Eye was most adept at destroying enemies
when they’d lowered their guard.
When he’d destroyed Elder Silverroc, it had been because the
elder had underestimated his opponent and hadn’t paid attention to the strength
behind this art.
Master Shuiyue was now absentminded and distracted, a moment
when her dao heart was the least stable.
Jiang Chen could tell with a glance, this was when an
opponent’s mental defenses were the weakest.
This was when the Evil Golden Eye would find it the easiest
to sneak in!
Master Shuiyue had already sunk into madness at this point,
prepared to detonate her spirit ocean and take Jiang Chen down with her in a
bloody battle.
She suddenly felt a tyrannical strength shoot through her
eyes when the beam of golden light arrived and dived deep into her soul.
Although she trained in the arts and techniques of ice, she
too had a feeling of falling down to an icy cavern in this moment.
She circulated her spirit ocean and realized that her
consciousness seemed to have been locked. She couldn’t move her body according
to her will!
This discovery scared Master Shuiyue witless as terror
filled her eyes. She suddenly thought of Elder Long Luo.
“This is bad! I’ve been hit by his demonic art!”
A tragic shriek echoed through the air as Master Shuiyue
thrashed to break free of the Evil Golden Eye’s restrictions. However, she had
no idea what she’d fallen victim to and thus naturally couldn’t even speak of
breaking free of it.
Jiang Chen laughed derisively as his body flashed once
again, appearing with the bone club held aloft.
“Shuiyue, your biggest mistake in this life was to scout
Long Juxue. Now let me send you on your way!”
Master Shuiyue’s still charming face was now filled with
fear. Regret, fear, despair, and hatred formed a kaleidoscope of emotions in
her heart.
Golden light flashed in front of her as Jiang Chen’s bone
club arrived in front of her.
“Hold, scum!”
A forbidding roar suddenly blasted through the air. The
owner was a noticeable distance away, but had ripped through the void with his
voice to ring next to Jiang Chen’s ears like a clap of thunder.
“Old monster Sunchaser!” Jiang Chen was entirely too
familiar with this voice.
Although Master Shuiyue’s soul had been confined by the Evil
Golden Eye, she still possessed some of her consciousness and was elated to
hear the forefather’s voice. She immediately whistled sharply a few times,
calling out to him for help.
The origin realm forefather’s aura was indeed astonishing.
Even though he was still a distance away, his roar had embodied the strength of
his enormous true essence and had caused Jiang Chen’s attack to halt briefly.
“Jiang Chen, if you dare touch a single hair on Shuiyue,
I’ll hunt you down no matter what the cost!”
Sunchaser’s tone was urgent and brutal, but full of hidden
concern.
Master Shuiyue was his subordinate, but also his forbidden
pleasure. There had always been an inexplicable relationship between the two of
them all along.
However, their seniority was different, so they couldn’t
openly dual cultivate.
Even so, Shuiyue was Sunchaser’s most cherished and beloved.
Their relationship was exceedingly hidden, and no one within the sect knew of
this.
When Sunchaser had emerged from his closed door cultivation
just then, he’d felt unsettled, waves of unease cascading through him. When he
questioned those around him carefully, he learned that Jiang Chen had escaped
from the Eternal Spirit Mountain, directly charging to the Shangyang Kingdom,
and that Master Shuiyue had even brought two elders with her to the Shangyang
Kingdom.
This news had greatly alarmed Sunchaser. He knew that his
ill feeling was because Shuiyue had met with danger.
Therefore, Sunchaser didn’t pause at all as he emptied the
sect of senior executives and brought them all with him.
He rushed to the Shangyang Kingdom with the fastest speed
possible.
Sunchaser had already detected the situation when Jiang Chen
had brought the bone club crashing down on Master Shuiyue, but sadly he was too
far away. Incapable of rescuing of her, he could only resort to issuing a stern
warning.
Although Jiang Chen’s attack had been slowed, this didn’t
decrease the killing intent in his heart.
So what of an origin realm?
Even if he were to face Sunchaser’s rage the very next
moment, Jiang Chen showed not the slightest iota of hesitation.
He shook his right arm and smashed down with the bone club.
Bam!
It connected solidly with Master Shuiyue’s head, killing her
instantly.
Master Shuiyue’s body crumpled, her eyes still staring
straight at Jiang Chen, unaccepting of her death, dying with great regret. She
couldn’t believe that she’d died in the moment that forefather Sunchaser had
arrived to save her.
“How dare you, you lowly SCUM!!”
Sunchaser felt like his heart and mind were splitting open
when he saw this scene. He saw Master Shuiyue slowly fall, but couldn’t save
her.
He threw his head back and howled, his rage as crazed as the
raging waves and thrashing seas of a heavenly storm. Like an unleashed tsunami,
his fury covered the skies and shook the air.
“Jiang Chen! I swear, here, today, if I do not strip you of
your tendons, skin you alive, and burn your bones to ashes, I am less than
human!”
Sunchaser had dominated the sixteen kingdom alliance for
hundreds of years. Even the forefathers of the other sects didn’t dare kill
those of the Purple Sun Sect in front of him.
Of all people, Jiang Chen had actually dared kill Shuiyue in
front of him!
This wasn’t just simply killing a person, but deeply
offensive provocation against his incomparably noble position!
In the sixteen kingdom alliance, no one had ever dared
naysay him as he ran roughshod through all the sects.
It’d only ever been him controlling the life and death of
others, and others listening to him.
When had it ever turned into someone else daring to
challenge his authority, dictating the life and death of his sect members, and
showing indifference to his threats and warnings??
All of this made Sunchaser grow almost frenzied in his rage.
“Die, dumb animal!”
Sunchaser transformed into a sphere of red light as he
flexed his hand, hurling down a hand seal that blazed like the sun.
Pressure only rivaled by an enormous mountain range slammed
down on Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen knew that he wouldn’t be able to take this hit
that an origin realm cultivator had put his full force behind.
He curled up his body and had a lotus vine directly drag him
beneath the ground.
Sunchaser howled angrily as his eyes grew crimson with
bloodlust. He screamed in rage, “Jiang Chen, you will be hard pressed to escape
death even if you fly through the skies and earth today!”
Sunchaser flicked his hand as a broadsword appeared in his
hand. He gripped it with both hands. It rose up as if a wheel of the blazing
sun, dancing with astonishing flames.
The circular light from the broadsword snapped, transforming
into a slab of cutting intent straight into the ground.
Rumble!
A deep moat immediately appeared in the ground as if a bull
had just finished plowing the fields, extending into the ground for a good ten
feet.
A frosty look glinted in Sunchaser’s eyes as he shot towards
Gouyu and the others in the distance, shouting, “Kill all the intruders!”
This command was naturally issued to the Purple Sun Sect
senior executives following behind.
The Purple Sun Sect had been completely emptied out this
time. Sect head Spiritual Master Zixu and many other elders, all those who held
actual power in their hands, had all arrived.
The sect’s great army had quickly made their way over to
encircle Gouyu and the others.
Gouyu was rather calm at the moment. Even though the Purple
Sun Sect’s army had arrived, their numbers were far below than the Swordbird
army’s.
“Younger sister Huang’er, take advantage of the pitched
battle later to slip away. You’re not of the Jiang family, so they won’t strive
to keep you.”
Gouyu looked at Huang’er with a trace of apology in her
eyes.
Huang’er was rather composed as she smiled faintly, “Don’t
be in such a rush to leave, elder sister Gouyu. Have some more confidence in
your young master!”
Numerous vines suddenly exploded out from the ground at this
moment.
Jiang Chen’s figure suddenly bounced off of one of the vines
and leapt onto the back of his Goldwing Swordbird. A clear whistle rang through
the air, and the Goldwing Swordbirds all started to move and set up their
defensive formations.
The power of several hundred Goldwing Swordbirds setting up
the Eight Trigrams Assimilation Formation under Jiang Chen’s orders was
absolutely astonishing.
When Sunchaser saw Jiang Chen once again reveal himself, his
rage boiled over and he growled, “Jiang Chen, your death is nigh!”
Sunchaser was like a maddened beast at the moment, striking
without abandon and completely oblivious to everything else around him. His
figure flashed as he shot into the sky.
“Chirp!!”
Several hundred Goldwing Swordbirds beat their wings in
unison. Layers of golden colored light slowly formed into a ripple that gently
undulated towards Sunchaser.
Sunchaser furiously thrust his palm towards the ripple but
was almost instantly repelled, his body shuddering at the backlash. His arm had
actually been struck numb!
This attack had stopped his charge cold!
A blow from a third level origin realm had been unable to
destroy the opponent’s formation!
Sunchaser was shocked and livid. He lifted his broadsword
and swung viciously down, aiming for the heart of the formation.
The main army from the Purple Sun Sect had arrived at this
point as well.
Spiritual Master Zixu and another group of elders all took
their places, ready to join the fray with combined attacks.
Jiang Chen was incensed and reached for his storage ring,
ready to take out the Millionditch Stonenest and summon the Goldbiter Rat tribe.
At the moment, patches of aqua clouds swiftly scudded across
the sky from the south. A low and weathered voice rolled in. “Sunchaser, do you
not care for face anymore? How dare you mobilize the power of an entire sect
for one of the junior disciples of my Precious Tree Sect?”
The voice belonged to forefather Thousandleaf of the
Precious Tree Sect!
Judging from the looks of things, it would seem that the
entire Precious Tree Sect had been emptied out as well.
Sunchaser’s face grew cold when he heard this voice, and he
looked over to the south. His killing intent immediately doubled. “Everyone,
attack with all your strength! Kill Jiang Chen first and then exterminate the
Precious Tree Sect!”
He would see things through no matter the consequences.
Sunchaser was caught in the throes of his fury at the
moment. He hated everything and anything associated with Jiang Chen!
And the most common way in that Sunchaser expressed his
hatred was to slaughter everything in sight and wipe out the clan!
Jiang Chen had wanted to use the Goldbiter Rats, but
abruptly changed his mind when he saw those from the Precious Tree Sect arrive.
He laughed heartily and completely activated the Lotus, hovering around the
formation and providing ad-hoc cover for the Goldwing Swordbirds.
He held throwing daggers crafted from the Raven King’s tail
feathers in his hands, God’s Eye shining like a beacon at midnight as he
searched for an opening in front of the formation.
He was prepared to give the senior executives of the Purple
Sun Sect a lethal blow at any moment.
Chapter 425: A Stalemate Between Origin Realms
“Everyone strike with all your might, kill him!”
Sunchaser charged out in front, his broadsword raised high
and gleaming with the radiance of the blazing sun as he thrust forward with his
greatest stroke.
“Blazing Molten Sun, Slash!”
The broadsword slashed down as the crimson light exploded
almost a hectare wide, cleaving straight down to the center of the formation.
Concentric rings of force formed around the strike as it
generated an enormous heat wave. The force ringlets fell from the skies Iike an
immortal’s overturned pill cauldron, churning the air with pure incandescent
flames.
The force truly was an enormous wave of wildfire.
The formation made by the Goldwing Swordbirds could
absolutely defend against the attack, but the tremendous heat wave would bake
their feathers. This suffocating heat wave seemed as if it would burn
everything under the sky.
Jiang Chen was immensely taken aback to see this as well.
“Who would’ve thought that Sunchaser would have such
tyrannical strength!”
Jiang Chen didn’t have enough attention to spare for killing
the senior executives of the Purple Sun Sect at the moment. He focused on
manipulating more than a dozen ice lotus vines to emanate curtains of icy
power, fully sealing off the momentum of the heat wave.
Having just absorbed the power in Master Shuiyue’s ice rune,
the ice lotuses were also in peak condition.
Layers of icy walls kept sealing off the air around the
formation.
“Hmph, pitiful little tricks! Break!”
Sunchaser’s sword thrust was undeterred as he continued to
send forth more heat waves.
Crack crack crack crack!
The walls of ice that the lotuses had created all crumbled.
It was a good thing that the ice lotus possessed strong
innate defensive power. When a dozen ice lotuses were lined up together, they
seemed to possess countless tentacles that transformed into a brilliant
manifestation of frosty hues in the sky, roiling toward the void and
continuously cutting away at the heat wave.
This heat wave was strong, but it wasn’t enough to instantly
destroy the ice lotuses.
Jiang Chen was well aware that the strength behind this heat
wave was greater than his. If its full force was allowed to crash into the
formation, countless Goldwing Swordbirds would be injured or killed, even if
the formation held up.
Jiang Chen didn’t want such a thing to happen, so he
summoned the Lotus, using this method to assault the heat wave and disperse
some of its force. As long as the strength behind the heat wave was decimated,
the strength it would have to ram the formation with would be greatly
decreased.
Sunchaser hadn't seemed to anticipate that Jiang Chen would
prove this thorny. He snorted coldly and slashed left and right with his
broadsword, continuously hacking away at the ice lotus vines.
The strongest aspect about the Lotus lay within its
regeneration abilities. As long as the Flaming Heart of Ice remained, the Lotus
would be invincible.
After Sunchaser had chopped twenty or thirty vines apart,
the stumps then promptly regrew new vine tendrils.
Sunchaser was quickly swallowed beneath a sea of vines
before long.
Although the vines were of no threat to him, they greatly
decreased the momentum of his attacks.
This gave the Swordbird formation time to nurture a second
barrage of attacks.
The several hundred strong Goldwing Swordbirds used the
formation as a framework and used their innumerable sharp claws to form a
whirlwind, sending it whirling towards Sunchaser.
Sunchaser was greatly infuriated. He’d never thought that
he’d be caught by Jiang Chen!
He threw his head back in a howl and waved his broadsword
madly, leaping into the air and transforming into a streak of red light as he
broke free of the ice lotus vines’ fetters.
“Break!”
Sunchaser followed through, using his charge to power his
strike against the whirlwind as he cleaved down towards the whirlwind.
Wham!
The attack formed by the formation was instantly destroyed.
Sunchaser’s gaze narrowed and locked onto Jiang Chen. He
grew even more resolute in the depths of his fury. To round up bandits, one
needed to capture their leader first. Approaching Jiang Chen and executing him
was the only right course of action. Why bother with these feathered animals
and monstrous vines?
Everything would be as intangible as the floating clouds as
long as Jiang Chen was dead.
Jiang Chen was slightly surprised to see Sunchaser break
free of the ice lotus vines with uncommon speed and no thought for his
well-being.
Jiang Chen’s hand plucked the air, and took out the
miniature form of the magnetic golden mountain.
Sunchaser was so domineering that even the Lotus wasn’t
enough to stop him. If he sent out the Goldbiter Rats, he’d only be sending
them to their deaths. It would make no difference at all.
He had to make use of his last trump card now.
Although Jiang Chen didn’t have confidence in being able to
fully deploy the golden magnetic mountain, if he tried his best and ignored the
injuries that would undoubtedly rack his body, he felt he’d be confident in
killing this old thief as long as he could restrain him for even the span of a
breath.
However, he only had a fifty-fifty chance of successfully
activating the golden magnetic mountain.
“Come on then.” Jiang Chen’s heart was serene, but fully
resolved.
Since he had chosen to fight, he also had the determination
to battle to death.
At that moment, a turquoise silhouette appeared in the air.
The figure pushed out with his hands and formed a turquoise ball of air that
roiled through the air, halting Sunchaser’s unparalleled attack.
“Old monster Sunchaser, that’s quite enough!”
This turquoise figure was forefather Thousandleaf’s timely
arrival.
When he saw Thousandleaf arrive, Jiang Chen flipped over his
hand and put the magnetic golden mountain away again. Jiang Chen and forefather
Thousandleaf both failed to notice that Huang’er, behind Jiang Chen, had also
taken a timely step back.
No one noticed that, but Gouyu did.
In that moment of life and death, Gouyu had also rushed over
with all her strength and was prepared to die with Jiang Chen.
She hadn’t thought that a light would flash beside her, and
Miss Huang’er would float lightly nearby the young master like a breath of
wind.
Gouyu hadn’t even seen how she’d done it.
In that moment, Gouyu even suspected that she’d seen
incorrectly, because an immense presence had flickered in and out of existence
from Miss Huang’er’s caped silhouette, an incomparably strong demeanor.
The presence had suddenly retracted into itself when
forefather Thousandleaf had revealed himself, as if that moment of change had
only been a misconception. Gouyu was extremely baffled and wondered if she had
in fact seen things correctly.
Was the gentle and tender Miss Huang’er in fact concealing
enormous strength?
“No, no, I must’ve seen incorrectly.” Gouyu tried to
convince herself. Miss Huang’er only seemed as old as the young master. She
looked genteel and fragile. No matter from what angle one appraised her from,
she didn’t seem like she would possess incredible martial techniques.
Sunchaser’s attacks were halted by Thousandleaf. The
former’s red brow arched, “Thousandleaf, you dare come throw your weight around
in my territory?”
Thousandleaf gave off an unworldly feeling as he laughed
lightly and stroked his sideburns. He said faintly. “Jiang Chen is one of my
Precious Tree Sect’s members, and as the forefather of the sect, I naturally
have the need to protect him. Sunchaser, why don’t we just let the events of
today be bygones?”
“Let the events of today be bygones?” Sunchaser’s face
contorted into an enraged grimace. “Jiang Chen butchered the royal family of my
Shangyang Kingdom and killed the senior executives of my Purple Sun Sect, and
you ask to just let this be? Thousandleaf, are you going senile in your old
age? What right do you think you have to dictate that I leave this be?”
Thousandleaf furrowed his brow lightly, “Sunchaser, the
sixteen kingdom alliance is in dire straits, and you spoke with such a strong
sense of self righteousness that day during the selection. Now that some
changes have occurred in the selection, you’ve completely torn up the contract
and been at odds with the disciples of my sect numerous times already. You say
that Jiang Chen killed the royals of the Shangyang Kingdom and destroyed your
sect’s senior executives, that is true. However, who started this grudge
first?”
“The Shangyang Kingdom invaded the Eastern Kingdom,
annihilated the Jiang clan and seized the Hall of Healing. These things
happened as well, yes?”
Thousandleaf knew that Sunchaser wasn’t one to talk reason,
but he still couldn’t help but want to talk rationally with the other.
“The Jiang family? Hall of the Healing? Are those ant-like
existences on par with the senior executives of my sect?” Sunchaser was
incensed. “Thousandleaf, shut your damned trap. If you’ve hardened your heart
to protect this scum Jiang Chen, then I don’t mind teaching you a lesson as
well!”
As good as Thousandleaf’s breeding may be, he was also
enraged by these words. “Teach me a lesson? Sunchaser, I know of your
arrogance, but your cockiness has reached new heights, hasn’t it?”
“Hahaha, so what if I am? What can you do about it? You’ve
always been a defeated opponent in terms of personal strength, and the fighting
capabilities of your Precious Tree Sect are less than half of my Purple Sun
Sect in terms of sect strength! Why can’t I be arrogant!”
He lifted his broadsword and locked onto Jiang Chen from
afar.
“Scum, even the gods descending upon the earth today won’t
save you!”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “I finally understand why the
Purple Sun Sect has always been one to run their mouths. They’ve inherited it
all from you. Long Juxue, Shuiyue, and those two bullshit elders all said the
same things to me and now they’re all dead, yet here I stand.”
Since they’d erupted in open hostilities, Jiang Chen
naturally wouldn’t have any words of kindness for Sunchaser.
Since you’re burning so fiercely, then why I don’t add a bit
of fuel so that you go up in even greater flames.
Indeed, these words added fuel to the flames and made
Sunchaser incredibly, explosively angry.
“Die, scum!”
Thousandleaf grasped with both hands and a wooden staff-like
weapon appeared in his hands. “Sunchaser, you and I are both of the origin
realm, must we risk our lives in a fight?”
Sunchaser was livid in his rage. “Risk our lives?
Thousandleaf, do you think you’re able to make me lay my life down on the line
in a battle? I don’t mind sending you on your way if you truly wish to engage
in a futile effort like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!”
Sunchaser was domineering because he had the strength to.
He’d always been the undisputed first amongst the four forefathers in the
sixteen kingdom alliance.
Therefore, he’d always had a strong sense of superiority
when he faced the other three, and he was the most overbearing in terms of
style and personality.
Thousandleaf also privately admitted that he would be the
loser if he fought Sunchaser. Although there was but a hairline difference
between the two of them, this was a crucial distinction in a match of life and
death between experts.
However, he had no reason to back down now that things had
progressed to this point.
He smiled faintly, a sense of openness in his smile.
“Sunchaser, there is no shirking my responsibilities as the forefather of the
Precious Tree Sect. I will protect my disciples. You may triumph over me, but
it will be difficult to ensure that you can emerge unscathed. Once you are
heavily injured, then your Purple Sun Sect will not be without its share of
worries either!”
“Threatening me?” Sunchaser started laughing in an ugly
fashion. “Thousandleaf, don’t think so highly of yourself. Why don’t you weigh
up how much you’re worth first!”
Thousandleaf’s expression changed slightly.
A hearty laugh sounded from the air at this moment. “If
Daoist Thousandleaf isn’t enough, what about with me as well?”
This laugh was vigorous and in high spirits, swiftly flying
in from the distance.
The feel of this person’s presence meant that another origin
realm cultivator had arrived!
Chapter 426: Sunchaser Backs Down
Jiang Chen felt infinitely close to this voice, and his lips
curved slightly in a heartfelt smile.
Old tutor Ye Chonglou had finally emerged from his closed
door cultivation after three years. Him emerging now meant that he’d already
entered the origin realm, and he’d thoroughly consolidated his cultivation in
that realm.
Otherwise, he never would’ve hastily exited his training,
not with his personality.
Ye Chonglou was riding the Five Winged Phoenix-Dragon in the
air. He landed in front of forefather Thousandleaf as if a divine deity
arriving from the heavens.
Jiang Chen was also slightly taken aback when he saw the
Phoenix-Dragon’s noble head. He hadn’t thought that this beast would awaken
another portion of its bloodlines after the old tutor broke through. The
Phoenix-Dragon had ascended to a saint rank spirit creature!
Twin blessings were knocking on the lordmaster’s door!
If Jiang Chen was surprised, then Thousandleaf and the
Precious Tree Sect were the epitome of shock.
“Chonglou, you… broke through to the origin realm?”
Thousandleaf felt both joy and surprise.
“It was about time I stirred a bit after dithering in the
spirit king realm for so long.” Ye Chonglou chuckled.
Thousandleaf was utterly delighted, “I truly must
congratulate you for this. I, Thousandleaf, finally have another on the same
path as me with the same ideals, one I can call brother.”
In the Precious Tree Sect, Thousandleaf was one in the high
reaches, unafraid of the cold in his lofty position as the forefather over a
horde of juniors. Now that Ye Chonglou had broken through, this meant that
there were two original realm cultivators in their camp, and that they could
spar at any time.
Although Ye Chonglou had angrily left the Precious Tree Sect
back in the day, his heart still remained with the sect, and was still of one
mind with the sect in important matters.
Ye Chonglou smiled dashingly and looked at Jiang Chen with a
thick sense of affection.
“Little friend, you’re something alright! I’ve only entered
closed door cultivation for three or so years, but you’ve soared to prominence
and have caused this amount of ruckus. Good, good! Young folk should be thus,
afraid of nothing and displaying an unrestrained and vigorous style that brims
with talent. Who cares if even an emperor himself is present? Blast them all
away if they dare step on your head!”
Ye Chonglou was profuse in his praise, and his bias towards
Jiang Chen could be obviously seen.
Sunchaser’s gaze was cold and austere as he sized up Ye
Chonglou, who’d descended from the skies. He too was incredibly surprised.
Ye Chonglou had broken through to the origin realm?
This was an enormously bad piece of news! This meant that
there was another origin realm cultivator on the Precious Tree Sect side. This
was definitely a negative development for Purple Sun Sect dominance in the
sixteen kingdom alliance!
“Ye Chonglou, you’re a mere newly-ascended cultivator. Are
you thinking of strutting foolishly in front of me?” Sunchaser boomed lowly.
Ye Chonglou had always possessed an unbridled and dashing
nature. He’d laid dormant in the Skylaurel Kingdom only because he was focusing
on his dao and didn’t want to keep high profile.
In addition, being unable to break through to the origin
realm had given him no desire to go about in society.
But now, how would Ye Chonglou show any face to Sunchaser’s
mocking words? Ye Chonglou smiled remotely, “Sunchaser, who is possibly more
arrogant than you? However, all of your arrogance will be useless today! If you
want to fight, you should prepare yourself to face off against the combined
attacks of three origin realm cultivators!”
“Three?” Sunchaser leered. “Forgive me for not seeing it, which
three?”
The Phoenix-Dragon couldn’t hold back any longer after
Sunchaser spoke. It threw its head to the skies and gave a monstrous roar that
crested like rolling thunder.
It was apparent that having reached the origin realm, it had
gained full sentience and completely comprehended human speech. The proud
Phoenix-Dragon was greatly displeased by Sunchaser’s dismissal of it.
“Mm?” Sunchaser’s pupils contracted slightly. It was obvious
that he previously hadn’t noticed this steed had also broken through to the
origin realm!
Boundless envy surged up in his heart in that instant. As
strong as Sunchaser was, he didn’t have a origin realm steed!
By what right and virtue did this Ye Chonglou possess a
saint rank steed?
Sunchase was thrown into disarray in that moment.
He had a ninety percent certainty facing off against
Thousandleaf.
He would still have at least fifty percent confidence versus
Thousandleaf and Ye Chonglou combined.
But if you add a fierce saint rank spirit creature to the
mix, then his chances of victory would absolutely not be higher than thirty
percent.
This kind of contracted spirit creature was the sort that
was the least afraid of death. Once it discovered that its master was in
danger, it would go utterly berserk and muster forth frightening, explosive
battle power.
Sunchaser would rather face three origin realm cultivators
rather than two origin realms, and a saint rank creature that might go berserk
at any time.
The scales of power had noticeably tipped towards the
Precious Tree Sect as soon as Ye Chonglou and the Phoenix-Dragon had appeared.
As strong as Sunchaser might be, he could only barely manage
to meet three origin realm cultivators in battle. There was almost no hope of
victory.
Those remaining in the Purple Sun Sect were certainly
stronger than the Precious Tree Sect, but how could Sunchaser ignore the
monstrous killing machine that was Jiang Chen?
And what of Jiang Chen’s million strong Swordbird army?
Sunchaser wasn’t of the mind that anyone else in the Purple
Sun Sect would be able to resist the Swordbird army, especially in that mysterious
formation.
With these conjectures, Sunchaser was shocked to realize
that if they were to meet in battle today, it would very likely be the Purple
Sun Sect who would end up decimated, rather than the Precious Tree Sect.
Ye Chonglou’s eyes blazed like torches as he noted
Sunchaser’s hesitation. He laughed heartily. “Sunchaser, fight if you will, why
the apprehension? You’ve always liked playing with fire. Let’s see if this time
it’ll result in the annihilation of the Purple Sun Sect, or what?”
Jiang Chen had killed three of the senior levels of the
Purple Sun Sect, but he hadn’t truly harmed it. Several elders as well as sect
head Spiritual Master Zixu all stepped forward.
They advised in low tones, “Forefather, lack of forbearance
in small matters upsets great plans. They’ve come prepared today. The Shangyang
Kingdom is sure to be destroyed if we fight, and our sect will be in dire
straits as well.”
“Forefather, what our sect needs to do now the most is to
preserve our strength and wait for the right time to strike. We shouldn’t
brashly charge into battle and exhaust our sect’s main strength. It’s not worth
it!”
They wouldn’t have dared give advice to Sunchaser in
ordinary times. But the situation was clearly laid out now. If things devolved
to a battle, the first to be eliminated would be their Purple Sun Sect.
The senior executives had all participated in attacking
Jiang Chen just now. Apart from Sunchaser, none of them had the strength to
break through his formation.
If Sunchaser was entangled by the three origin realm
cultivators, they would be completely at the mercy of others once Jiang Chen’s
formation sealed them within.
They would never want such a thing to happen.
Sunchaser had been arrogant and domineering for half his
life, having always acted as he would with impudence, defying every law and
order. However, he truly was hesitating this time.
When faced with the danger of sect annihilation, even one as
rampantly bullying as he had to weigh up the severity of the matter.
In the end, reason finally triumphed over impulse.
He threw vicious glares at Thousandleaf and Ye Chonglou
before locking his gaze on Jiang Chen, “Scum, I hope you’re always this lucky!”
The flames of fury seemed ready to spew out of his
hate-filled eyes. Everything was indicating how incensed and frustrated he was
at the moment.
Jiang Chen laughed heartily. “Old man Sunchaser, I know
you’re feeling quite aggrieved right now. You want to erupt, and yet you can’t.
However, for a sect that venerates the strong and have always bullied others,
you should’ve long foreseen the day that you would be humiliated instead?”
If looks could kill, Sunchaser’s glare would’ve killed Jiang
Chen a hundred times over by now.
It was a pity that he hadn’t trained in the arts of the eyes
and didn’t posses such skill.
Thousandleaf also relaxed inwardly when he saw Sunchaser
choose to back down.
To be honest, he was unwilling to meet a madman such as
Sunchaser in battle unless he absolutely had to. He smiled faintly as he saw
Sunchaser give ground. “Since this is the case, the matters of today will end
here. Sunchaser, I rather hope you think of the greater picture and set aside
your prejudices.”
This was undoubtedly preaching to deaf ears like playing a
lute to a cow. Sunchaser snorted coldly, a supercilious smile surfacing on his
face as he seemed quite dismissive of Thousandleaf’s words.
His red eyebrow arched. “What, do you plan on spending the
night here after I’ve let you go?”
Although Sunchaser had decided to abstain from fighting,
that didn’t mean he would be the first to withdraw his troops. After all, the
Shangyang Kingdom was his sect’s territory.
Allowing someone to come in and throw their weight around,
unpunished, was already past his bottom line. He would be completely unable to
be the one who left first.
“Jiang Chen, let’s stop at a good spot. Will you come back
to the sect with me?” Thousandleaf walked up with a slight smile.
Jiang Chen nodded. The Goldbiter Rats had long since found
and secretly rescued Jiang Zheng and the others. He had taken revenge and even
interest for the matter on this trip to the Shangyang Kingdom.
He felt absolutely satisfied and fulfilled having killed
that old woman Shuiyue.
As for Sunchaser, although he was arrogant and a looming
disaster, Jiang Chen truly didn’t have the ability to kill him at the moment.
He couldn’t bear to ask forefather Thousandleaf or
lordmaster Ye Chonglou to take the stand either. After all, this was something
that laid one’s life on the line. He didn’t have the right to ask this of
others.
He immediately nodded. “Jiang Chen is grateful and will
remember with gratitude the forefather coming to my aid. I will listen to the
forefather for all arrangements.”
Jiang Chen had no reason to put on appearances since the
forefather was being so kindly disposed towards him.
He then smiled at Ye Chonglou afterwards, “Lordmaster, I owe
you again for this time.”
Ye Chonglou gave a barking laugh, “Good kid, you still talk
like this with me?”
The old tutor actually felt great gratitude towards Jiang
Chen. If it wasn’t for Jiang Chen’s pointers, he never would’ve been able to
break through to the origin realm in this life. Where would all his current
glory be then?
It had always been Ye Chonglou’s ardent desire to
participate in the decisions at the highest levels. However, with his previous
cultivation at the spirit king level, although he had some influence, it wasn’t
enough to enter the circles of the four venerated ones.
But today, his high-profile entrance was also an official
proclamation that he, Ye Chonglou, had also entered the ranks of the venerated
origin realm cultivators!
The layout of the sixteen kingdom alliance would change from
now on. It was no longer an era of the four forefathers holding sway, and it
was even less one in which Sunchaser was the despot.
All of this stemmed from Jiang Chen.
As Sunchaser watched the Precious Tree Sect and Ye Chonglou
talk and laugh animatedly as they left with Jiang Chen, leaving behind the
Shangyang Kingdom in shambles as well as the carcasses of Master Shuiyue and
the others, Sunchaser’s expression twisted as he suddenly threw his head back
and howled. This howl soared to the nine heavens as a current of rage shot into
the sky, unable to find an outlet.
The Purple Sun Sect disciples all cowered and trembled
below. No one dared approach.
Everyone was well aware that in the forefather’s life of
dominance, he’d never come off the worse after an exchange like he had today.
For the forefather and the sect, this was a day of utter humiliation and
disgrace!
“Jiang Chen, Precious Tree Sect, and Ye Chonglou!”
Sunchaser’s teeth grated audibly as resentment suffused his tone and hatred
colored his eyes!
Chapter 427: Joining the Precious Tree Sect
What infuriated Sunchaser even more was the sight of the
bodies of the three elders, particularly Master Shuiyue. Jiang Chen had sent
his club crashing down on her face, and her originally beautiful features had
become a bloody mess.
Sunchaser’s heart was dripping blood. If it wasn’t for the
presence of the senior executives of the sect, he would’ve surely gripped the
body and wailed loudly.
Elder Silverroc had died in an even more ghastly fashion.
Jiang Chen had almost pounded him into meat paste.
It was rather Elder Long Luo whose repose was a bit
different. He seemed to be as durable as a metallic sculpture, his weight
reaching several hundred kilograms.
“Forefather, there’s something bizarre about Elder Long
Luo’s death.” Sect head Spiritual Master Zixu said carefully, deathly afraid of
angering a forefather caught in the full throes of rage.
Sunchaser didn’t vent his spleen on others. He inspected
Elder Long Luo’s corpse with a darkened face, murmuring with a sinister look
after a moment, “He’s fallen victim to a metal attribute art and his body’s
been petrified into metal. This scum is not only well versed in the the arts of
water and fire, but has such accomplishments in the art of metal as well! My
Purple Sun Sect will not know peace if he is not eliminated!”
Sunchaser finally calmed down from his agitated rage. He
began to consider his sect’s strategy in the face of this inexplicably
frustrating state of affairs.
He was an origin realm old monster after all. He wouldn’t be
one to wallow and lose himself in grief.
“Zixu, go make the arrangements. The royal family of the
Shangyang Kingdom has been annihilated and a new clan must be raised. Our
control over the kingdom cannot falter.”
Spiritual Master Zixu hastily nodded. “I’ll arrange things
appropriately, please be at ease.”
Sunchaser’s gaze was as biting as a wintry tundra as he
swept his eyes across the faces of those present. “All of you present have
witnessed today’s disgrace. Our Purple Sun Sect has dominated the sixteen
kingdom alliance for more than a thousand years. Yet during that millennium,
we’d never witnessed a crisis as enormous, nor a humiliation more profound,
than what happened here today. Right now, I hope alarm bells are ringing in all
of your hearts, that you’ve solemnly realized that our sect’s infallible
position has been severely challenged. As we stand here, we are surrounded by
great danger. If you still wish to maintain the advantage of being superior to
all those within the sixteen kingdom alliance, then look sharp! Remember the
shame of today, and find bravery from disgrace!”
“Remember, the Purple Sun Sect has not fallen! The Purple
Sun Sect is far from conceding in defeat! I have already made progress in
today’s closed door cultivation. When I throw off my shackles and ascend to
fourth level origin realm, that will be the day we conquer the Precious Tree
Sect! Today’s debt, born of our humiliation, will be paid ten times over at that
time!”
Sunchaser hadn’t chosen to fight to the end today because he
was only of the third level origin realm, and wasn’t confident that he’d be
able to take on three opponents.
The Purple Sun Sect would have no advantages at all if he
couldn’t destroy the three origin realm enemies.
But once his cultivation level broke through to fourth level
origin realm, his strength would surge by leaps and bounds and he’d have full
confidence even in the face of three origin realm cultivators.
Forefather Thousandleaf of the Precious Tree Sect was only
of third level origin realm, far from breaking through to fourth level.
Ye Chonglou and his steed had only just broken through to
the origin realm.
As long as Sunchaser made it through to the earth origin
realm, he would absolutely be able to trample the two of them.
If the Precious Tree Sect lost their origin realm
cultivators, then it would collapse without a fight, like monkeys fleeing a
falling tree.
…...
“Forefather, I must make a trip to the Eastern Kingdom and
take care of matters after this affair before returning to the Precious Tree
Sect.”
Thousandleaf smiled slightly. “Since this is the case, I’ll
accompany you.”
Ye Chonglou also smiled. “I’m also curious how the fengshui
of the Eastern Kingdom is to give birth to such a heaven defying genius as
you?”
The two elders laughed heartily and decided on personally
accompanying Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen was touched. He knew that this was them still not
at ease and worried that old monster Sunchaser would come swinging back for
him.
He didn’t put on airs and smiled, “It will be the height of
good fengshui for the Eastern Kingdom that two origin realm forefathers are
deigning to visit.”
Forefather Thousandleaf was in a great mood as he gave
orders, “Tianshu, take the rest of the people and return to the sect first. I
will accompany Jiang Chen to the Eastern Kingdom.”
Xie Tianshu knew full well now that Jiang Chen was the
Precious Tree Sect’s treasure, one that was even more valued than a sect head.
After all, even he might not have been able to kill three
Purple Sun Sect elders in a row. Even if he could, he wouldn’t have been able
to do so that easily.
Therefore, he knew how to behave in this situation and
didn’t dare envy Jiang Chen. He laughed accordingly, “What a pity that I cannot
go visit such a wondrous place. You won’t think me slighting you, would you
Jiang Chen?”
Jiang Chen knew that the sect head wanted to build closer relations
with him and smiled faintly, “The sect head has to attend to a host of matters
everyday. You must extend a great deal of effort and trouble in prioritizing
sect matters first.”
Jiang Chen then exchanged some pleasantries with the other
senior executives. He knew that the forefather had purposefully arranged things
thus when he didn’t see the Iron family. The forefather hadn’t wanted Jiang
Chen to be disgusted.
The group of people travelled back to the Eastern Kingdom.
Thousandleaf and Ye Chonglou were actually disinterested in
the Eastern Kingdom. They were going to protect Jiang Chen, and to express
their attitudes about him.
They could all see that Jiang Chen’s future was unlimited,
and that his future would be above theirs. That day wasn’t too far away either.
Jiang Chen obviously didn’t plan on making a big fuss of
things. He escorted the Jiang family members back to the Jiang Han duchy and
had Xue Tong give them a large sum of wealth. Jiang Chen also gave them the
three pill recipes and had the Jiang family clean up the Hall of Healing,
leveraging the strength of the Hall of Healing to rebuild the Jiang family.
Jiang Chen had long since drawn the lines between himself
and the Eastern royal family, but he wasn’t opposed to Gouyu doing a few things
for her family.
After all, the Eastern clan ancestor had been killed and the
Eastern Kingdom now lacked an expert to hold down the fort. Things would become
exceedingly dangerous for them.
The heir to the Jinshan duchy, Fatty Xuan, and the heir to
the Hubing duchy, Hubing Yue, happened to bump into each other at the door of a
random tavern in the capital.
“Fatty, you’re here too? Do you know who’s come to find us?”
Hubing Yue was confused.
Fatty Xuan had once successfully lost weight after being
stuck in the Boundless Catacombs for a month, but his weight had rebounded
after three years and he was once again that bouncing ball.
He was also greatly baffled at the moment.
Their families were now numbered amongst the four great
dukes in the Eastern Kingdom. Their identities had naturally risen dramatically
as well. They were first class fops in the capital.
However, Hubing Yue was different from Fatty Xuan in that he
focused on martial dao. His cultivation level had improved by leaps and bounds,
and he was now amongst the true qi masters.
Fatty Xuan was lazy by nature and was only nine meridians
true qi at the moment.
The two had entered the tavern as they chatted with each
other.
“You’ve arrived, the young master has been waiting for a
while.” Xue Tong walked out from a corner and greeted them.
“You… you’re my boss’ follower?” A look of delight suddenly
shot out from Fatty Xuan’s thin slits for eyes. “I heard that something happened
to the Hall of Healing a few days ago, saying that boss had returned to the
Eastern Kingdom. Is it… is it true?”
Fatty Xuan was truly overjoyed now. He grabbed Xue Tong’s
arm with great agitation as his eyes lit up like twin suns.
Hubing Yue was slightly astonished as he paused, “You’re…
you’re a spirit realm expert?”
Xue Tong smiled faintly, “Shall we, gentlemen? Let’s not
keep the young master waiting.”
Fatty Xuan chuckled. “Go! Let’s go! I thought I’d never see
boss again in this life!”
Hubing Yue’s eyes were shot through with red as he recalled
the hardships and joys that they’d shared with Jiang Chen, as well as the
gratitude of rebirth he owed Jiang Chen.
If it wasn’t for Jiang Chen, Hubing Yue never would’ve
reached the level of eleven meridians true qi master in three years, even
though his potential was quite good.
“Young master, the two Lordships have arrived.”
Xue Tong pushed through the door and sent a message ahead
with his consciousness.
Fatty Xuan behind him couldn’t contain his glee as he arched
his body and cleared out a patch of space. He squirmed through the door and
pounced on Jiang Chen, tears and snot falling down together.
“Boss, I’ve missed you so terribly very much!”
Jiang Chen was also happy to be reunited with his old
friends. He clapped their shoulders and embraced them, finally calming Fatty
Xuan’s emotions after a while.
“Alright Fatty! I see that it’s impossible for you to lose
weight.” Jiang Chen teased and looked at Hubing Yue. “Xiao Yue hasn’t relaxed
his training. Eleven meridians true qi master! There is hope for you for the
spirit realm, very good, very good!”
Hubing Yue’s eyes reddened further after Jiang Chen’s
compliments as his emotions were also highly agitated.
Fatty Xuan laughed uproariously. “I’ve thought things
through. I’ve destined to be good for nothing in this life, and being fat is my
trademark. No one recognizes me on the streets if I’m not fat, how depressing
is that? Bro, you don’t know how even though life has been glorious for me in
the capital these years, it always felt like something was missing in my heart
without you.”
Jiang Chen sighed but had nothing to say. This was a natural
occurrence in life. When childhood friends grew up, they were destined to
pursue their own paths.
Fatty Xuan had the personality of a dandy, this was fated to
be his life.
Whereas Hubing Yue had noticeably changed, his temperament
becoming more steady.
“Xiao Yue, Fatty, you’ll have to shoulder the responsibility
of the clan one day. I only hope that you are still brothers when the day in
which you grasp power arrives. I’ve come to arrange a few things this time and
will be leaving shortly. If our fates are willing, we will meet again.”
Although this was cruel, Jiang Chen was well ware that the
trajectory of his life was now completely different from theirs. The chances
they’d have to meet in the future would only decrease even more.
Jiang Chen had Xue Tong send them on their way after a few
more hours. He gave them a few things in private. The items weren’t too good,
nor were they too bad.
He gave Hubing Yue a Five Dragons Heaven Opening Pill.
He gave Fatty Xuan some protective treasures and a spirit
weapon.
Gouyu also took care of the Eastern clan affairs as well.
She brought Eastern Zhiruo to meet with Jiang Chen so as to fulfill the little
girl’s request.
The little girl was young and had a forthright personality.
She seemed to know that Jiang Chen and her were of different worlds. Although
she had a multitude of emotions in her heart, she hid them all very docilely in
her heart.
Jiang Chen quietly left the Eastern Kingdom after two days
and officially joined the Precious Tree Sect with his followers.
After Jiang Chen joined, Ye Chonglou announced that he was
returning to the Precious Tree Sect.
Forefather Thousandleaf was of an obvious mind to spread
news of this far and wide as he gave great pomp and circumstance to Jiang Chen
and Ye Chonglou entering the sect. He gave out invitations to the senior
executives of all the sects to welcome them to observe the ceremony.
Jiang Chen didn’t oppose this. He knew that forefather
Thousandleaf had been suppressed too long and needed to show off a bit, to
regain some confidence amongst the four sects.
Chapter 428: Envoy from the Sky Sect
Bam!
Slamming his fist on the stone table in front of him,
Sunchaser’s face flushed, shifting between red and white. It was obvious he was
more than a little enraged.
The invitation in his hand was from the Precious Tree Sect.
It was inviting him and the senior executives of the Purple Sun Sect to attend
the ceremony of Ye Chonglou and Jiang Chen entering the sect.
This invitation was worded very politely, but it was a naked
challenge in Sunchaser’s eyes. To invite the Purple Sun Sect at this time to
watch the proceedings, it was completely toying with the Purple Sun Sect,
making them lose face, and even a proclamation to the sixteen kingdom alliance
that from now on, the Precious Tree Sect would replace the Purple Sun Sect and
become the head of the four sects!
This was something that Sunchaser found hardest to accept.
What had just happened in the Shangyang Kingdom just now had
already accumulated enough ire that he had nowhere to vent. Now, the Precious
Tree Sect’s actions were just adding oil to the flames and fueling his rage to
new heights.
If they went, it was an undoubted humiliation of the Purple
Sun Sect. Seeing the Precious Tree Sect strut around, comfortable in their
position, was something that no one in the Purple Sun Sect could accept.
If he didn’t go, the outside world would think that the
Purple Sun Sect was already afraid of the Precious Tree Sect and didn’t even
have the courage to face the latter. Not participating would be dodging the
issue.
Therefore, it was truly a difficult decision for Sunchaser.
He was contemplating when he saw Spiritual Master Zixu
stride forth, a mysterious and stern look on his face. “Forefather, there is
someone outside who claims he is from the Sky Sect and has asked to speak to
you by name.”
Sunchaser happened to be at a loss of what to do when he
suddenly heard the news. His knitted brows arched upwards and a look of delight
appeared, “Is he finally here?”
He was then a bit worried after his surprise. “I wonder if
the Sky Sect envoy will fault us for Long Juxue being killed?”
Although he was inwardly anxious, Sunchaser didn’t dare
tarry. It was obvious that this envoy had quite a background when even an
origin realm cultivator like him had to dance careful attendance.
A blue clad man was standing with his hands behind his back
in the most venerated guest receiving hall of the Purple Sun Sect. His
expression was cold and remote, and he exuded a strong solitary pride.
The senior executives of the Purple Sun Sect kept smiling
and seeking to wait upon the man, but the blue clad man remained expressionless
and didn’t give them the slightest bit of face.
Sunchaser walked over swiftly at this moment. The normally
arrogant forefather was now wreathed in smiles, and one could even detect a
hint of humility, even fawning, in his smiles.
“The entire Purple Sun Sect have waited and yearned, finally
welcoming the day the Sky Sect envoy has graced us with your presence. Sir
Envoy, Sunchaser has been remiss in greeting you.”
Sunchaser threw a look at the senior executives as he spoke,
indicating for them to leave.
The envoy would only be irritated by service from people of
that level.
The blue clad man’s arrogantly aloof expression finally
loosened a bit when he saw Sunchaser appear.
“Sunchaser, it looks like your sect’s morale is quite low.
It’s not at all as impressive as you were boasting! This Purple Sun Sect is
rather disappointing.”
The blue clad man’s tone was faint, but it had the natural
quality of one in a superior position. This made Sunchaser have to lower his
head docilely and accept this lecture.
Sunchaser smiled ruefully, “Sir Envoy, it’s truly difficult
to quickly summarize the reasons behind this.”
The blue clad man gave a flick of his hands. “I didn’t come
here to listen to your complaints. Here, summon your innate constitution
disciple. I want to assess to see if she is as she appears.”
Sunchaser knew this would be bad as soon as he heard these
words. He was dumbfounded and didn’t know how to respond.
The blue clad man became a bit displeased when he saw
Sunchaser dither. “What? Is it that I cannot summon one of your junior
disciples?”
Sunchaser sighed lightly, “Sir Envoy, Sunchaser was
incompetent and couldn’t protect Long Juxue. She was killed during the great
selection!”
Sunchaser knew that there was no way to conceal things at
this point in time. He could only confess. Perhaps that would provoke the
envoy’s temper and gain him some sympathy.
“What?” The blue clad man was flabbergasted. “Are you
jesting? One with an innate constitution was killed? Isn’t your Purple Sun Sect
the dominant power in the sixteen kingdom alliance?”
“The Purple Sun Sect has always been the head of the four
great sects, this is correct. Even Lei Gangyang is enough to sweep all the
disciples of the other three sects, much less Long Juxue. The one who killed
Long Juxue this time was a perverse genius from a secular kingdom. I don’t know
what strange heritage he’s received that makes his strength extraordinary. He’s
even killed three of my elders.”
Sunchaser truly gritted his teeth whenever he spoke of Jiang
Chen.
The blue clad man snorted derisively. “Isn’t this new. The
rise of a grass root from a secular kingdom that ended in the death of an
innate constitution. What do you think your sixteen kingdom alliance is? Are
there that many geniuses everywhere? Sunchaser, don’t you feign compliance
while acting in opposition. What is the reason? Did you send that Long Juxue to
another power to pave the path of ascension for your Purple Sun Sect?”
Sunchaser was scared witless when he heard these words.
“Sir Envoy, where do these words come from? My Purple Sun
Sect is but a tiny piece of land, how would we dare betray the Sky Sect? I,
Sunchaser, have wholeheartedly flocked to the Sky Sect banner. I had thought to
make use of the selection to awe and suppress the other three sects, building
the foundations for the Sky Sect’s entrance to the sixteen kingdom alliance.
Unfortunately, a man’s schemes are inferior to those made by heaven, and all
our plans were wrecked and ruined by the appearance of a secular genius. A
simple investigation will be enough to prove my words true or false!”
“Hmph! Secular genius!” The blue clad man was obviously
disdainful of this matter. He felt that Sunchaser was exaggerating things.
Remote, secular kingdoms could only give birth to certain levels of geniuses.
Those characters were ants in the eyes of the Sky Sect.
“Sunchaser, I will be investigating this matter. You should
know the consequences of betrayal if I discover the slightest falsehood. Hmph,
the value of your Purple Sun Sect has decreased by at least one half without a
genius of an innate constitution. We’d wanted to make an exception and give you
the rank of a three star division master. Now, you are worth a rank of one star
division master at most. Even this is an extra favor for you.”
The blue clad man made a grasping motion with a single hand
and an ancient, unadorned badge appeared in his hand. He threw it to Sunchaser.
“This is the badge of a Sky Sect division master. With it,
you are a division master of the Sky Sect. The Purple Sun Sect no longer
exists, you are now the Purple Light Division.”
Sunchaser started, “Sir Envoy, why not the Purple Sun
Division?”
The envoy started laughing coldly. “Purple Sun Division? Do
you fancy yourself worthy of the two words ‘purple sun’? These two words are a
taboo. The Sky Sect’s full name is the Ninesuns Sky Sect, with nine manors
within the sect. One of them is the Purple Sun Manor. Now, are you sure you
want to change your name to the Purple Sun Division?”
Cold sweat beaded Sunchaser’s forehead when he heard these
words. He was almost frightened out of his soul. This was a double taboo!
The first was a taboo in using the sect’s name, and the
second was a taboo using the Purple Sun Manor’s name.
Sunchaser hurriedly waved his hands and said with a
carefully reserved face, “No, not at all. The Purple Light Division is fine.”
The blue clad man’s expression was cold as he said faintly,
“Sunchaser, the sect never keeps trash. We’ve appointed you as division master,
but if you cannot show anything for your position, this badge may be
confiscated at any time.”
Sunchaser hastened to say, “Since we have joined the Sky
Sect, Sunchaser will naturally put forth all his effort for the Sky Sect and
exhaust myself in the task. I will not shrink from sacrifice even if I’m faced
with mountains of blades or oceans of fire.”
“Save the empty flattery. Your most pressing mission is to
unite the sixteen kingdom alliance. Swallow the four sects and incorporate them
into the Purple Light Division. If you can do this well, then even a rank of
four star division master is possible.”
The blue clad man knew the essence of being in power. One
would have to dangle a sweet reward after dishing out a slap.
“Unite the four sects?” Sunchaser’s eyes rolled around as he
weighed this matter, then finally laughed ruefully. “Sir Envoy, if Long Juxue
had been able to develop successfully, if the secular genius hadn’t appeared,
all of this might have been completed in ten or twenty years. But now…”
“Where’s the difficulty?”
“There are many, the chief of which is the Precious Tree
Sect. The Precious Tree Sect is now very influential, as if the sun at midday.
It’s received the addition of the secular genius as well as an origin realm
cultivator, and a saint rank spirit creature. In terms of strength, the
Precious Tree Sect is no longer inferior to my Purple Sun Sect… no, not less
than my Purple Light Division.”
“Precious Tree Sect? The blue clad man snorted coldly. “That
sect with the most spirit medicine resources that you mentioned before?”
“Yes indeed.” Sunchaser hastened to say.
“A decade or two, the Sky Sect has no time to wait that
long. You must unite all sixteen kingdoms with one stroke and put all future
worries to bed. The sect has sent me here to lend a helping hand at critical
moments. Undue delay might lead to trouble. Although the sixteen kingdom
alliance is a remote place, many gazes are now gathering here. If my Sky Sect
does not take swift and ruthless action, it would not be pretty if other forces
became involved.”
Sunchaser was overjoyed by these words. He knew this meant that
the envoy was personally taking action.
The blue clad man wasn’t necessarily stronger than
Sunchaser, but the former had the benefit of a good birth and a high status. So
Sunchaser kept a very low profile in front of him because the other held his future
and fate in his hands.
If Sunchaser somehow offended the envoy with a word, then
the envoy would only need one word to destroy Sunchaser and the entire sect
when he returned.
“Sir Envoy, with your action, unifying the four sects is
absolutely a foregone conclusion. It so happens that the Precious Tree Sect is
holding an induction ceremony and has invited the four sects to participate.
Those from all the sects will be there at this time, and a strong blow from you
will certainly result in success with one battle. The others will be submissive
and meek, throwing themselves under the Purple Light Division’s banner.”
Sunchaser began to furiously kiss up to the blue clad man.
As the Sky Sect envoy, the blue clad man felt quite superior
in the sixteen kingdoms. He didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about
Sunchaser’s fawning, and accepted it all readily.
He was actually a bit stronger than Sunchaser. As a fourth
level origin realm expert, he was a solid earth origin realm cultivator.
He completely surpassed Sunchaser both in terms of
background or strength, so he didn’t deign to show any humility in front of
Sunchaser.
“How much longer until the induction ceremony?” The blue
clad man asked after musing for a bit.
“The invitation said nine days.”
The man contemplated some more. “Alright, then we must take
down the other three sects in nine days on our trip to the Precious Tree Sect,
incorporating them into the Purple Light Division. There can be no accidents
about this. When this is complete, I will follow the orders from above and help
you enter fourth level origin realm, giving you absolute strength in
suppressing others and absolute authority in the Purple Light Division!”
Sunchaser’s brows danced with happiness upon hearing this.
This was such an unexpected delight!
Chapter 429: Divine Fruit of the Rosy Dawn
Sunchaser had been fruitlessly spinning his wheels when the
arrival of the Sky Sect envoy immediately restored his fighting spirit and
swept away his dejection.
No matter from what angle one approached things, the Purple
Sun Sect was the absolute winner now that the Sky Sect envoy had decided to
personally take the field.
Although they’d lost the name of the Purple Sun Sect, they’d
received real power instead.
What did the badge of a division master of the Ninesuns Sky
Sect mean? It meant that he, Sunchaser, was no longer someone with no patron at
all. He’d latched onto a powerful backer.
Even the strong factions in the Myriad Domain wouldn’t be
able to ignore the existence of the Ninesuns Sky sect.
Even though he’d only received a badge of the lowest rank,
no one would dare slight him all the same.
Most importantly, the Purple Light Division would unite the
four sects. This meant that Sunchaser would be in charge of far more people,
and even more experts would follow his orders.
Although they may not wholeheartedly submit to him in the
short term, he’d naturally have his ways to bring them to heel in due time as
his strength continued to increase.
After all, the situation was in front of them. Either they
bent the knee, or faced destruction.
In the world of martial dao, going along with the flow was
the true way of survival. Sunchaser didn’t feel that the senior executives of
the three great sects had the willpower to defy the Ninesuns Sky Sect.
To put things bluntly, it was their great fortune that the
Ninesuns Sky Sect had cast its eyes on them!
If there really were those who couldn’t see the greater
picture, then he’d be forced to use some strong-arm tactics and kill one or two
of them to make an example for the others to see!
Sunchaser had already started planning who he’d make an
example of first.
Jiang Chen!
This name was certainly in first place.
Whether they were the Purple Sun Sect or the Purple Light
Division, they would never have a moment of peace as long as this person was
not eliminated.
Jiang Chen made appropriate arrangements for his followers
upon returning to the Precious Tree Sect.
He was now the most pivotal figure among the Precious Tree
Sect’s younger generation. The worth of his followers had naturally risen as
well—they enjoyed the treatment usually reserved to first tier disciples.
The benefits of joining the Precious Tree Sect were apparent
in this manner.
Jiang Chen wasn’t actually very interested in an induction
ceremony, but everyone within the sect was highly enthused about this, so he
didn’t want to dampen everyone’s spirits.
He could understand it as well. The Precious Tree Sect had
been suppressed by the Purple Sun Sect for so many years. It was natural to
desire making use of this opportunity of exaltation and fulfillment for
widespread fanfare.
The Precious Tree Sect gave Jiang Chen the best possible
treatment. They hewed out a brand new residence for him alone in the sector
with the densest concentration of spirit qi.
Only sect elders could enjoy such treatment. Even Lian
Canghai and Xie Yufan didn’t yet have the right to enjoy such privilege.
However, no one in the sect expressed dissatisfaction about
this.
Jiang Chen had killed Long Juxue of the innate constitution
in the great selection, annihilated the Wu family clan in the Shangyang
Kingdom, and slaughtered three elders of the Purple Sun Sect.
Any of these glorious achievements were accomplishments that
the younger disciples could only look up to.
How many elders within the sect could’ve done the same, much
less the younger generation?
Although Jiang Chen enjoyed all of this preferential
treatment, he didn’t grow cocky, nor full of himself. Many sect elders held
banquets to welcome him in the days following his return. He attended them all
happily and didn’t arrogantly turn any down.
He knew as well that the network of connections within the
sect was complex. There was nothing bad about forming good relationships.
In this way, basically all of senior executives of the sect
extended olive branches to Jiang Chen, apart from the Iron family.
He rejected no one.
This won him widespread approval and a good reputation a
short few days after entering the sect.
Apart from Jiang Chen, the one most in the limelight was old
man Fei Xuan. He’d been promoted to elder-in-waiting before, and now that Jiang
Chen had joined the sect, it had an undeniable impact to his influence.
Jiang Chen also took care to interact with him on many
occasions. This too unknowingly raised old man Fei’s status.
In contrast, Ye Chonglou was having a rather easy time.
Due to his cultivation level and status, he didn’t need to
consider anyone’s face apart from forefather Thousandleaf.
Ye Chonglou was now the sect’s second forefather, second
only to one and above tens of thousands.
Jiang Chen finally became acclimated to the business of sect
life after a few days and wrapped up various social calls as well.
When he returned to the residence that forefather
Thousandleaf himself had broken ground, Jiang Chen discovered to his surprise
that lordmaster Ye Chonglou had come for a visit.
“Lordmaster.” Jiang Chen was somewhat bewildered.
“Haha, what, you don’t welcome a raggedy old man like me?”
Ye Chonglou was in a wonderful mood. He’d returned to the Precious Tree Sect
with the identity of a forefather, and the Iron family, the culprits who’d made
him leave with resignation back in the day, could only look up to him. This
feeling felt damn good.
“The lordmaster is an origin realm forefather, how would
this kid not welcome you? I should be greatly kissing up to you!” Jiang Chen
joked back.
“You brat! Others may not know, but you definitely know what
is the deal with my origin realm. If it wasn’t for you, I’m afraid I would’ve
dithered in the spirit king realm for my whole life.”
A mixture of emotions coursed through Ye Chonglou. “I’ve
been laying low for so long. I’d never have thought that I’d return to the sect
one day stand at the peak.”
“Age has never been an issue in martial dao. The lordmaster
possesses an undying hero’s heart. It was a given that you would make it here
today.” Jiang Chen offered a few words of flattery.
The two sat down as the lordmaster suddenly asked, “Jiang
Chen, I heard that Dan Fei left you a letter when she left?”
Jiang Chen was surprised by the lordmaster’s sudden
question.
However, he didn’t deny it. He nodded slightly and didn’t
mention the contents of the letter.
The lordmaster seemed to have guessed something as he sighed
softly. “I have been raising Dan Fei since she was young. I might have overly
spoiled her, which resulted in her slightly high-brow personality. However,
little Dan’s mindset is pure and kind, and she’s always had a stubborn streak
in her character and style. I was in closed door cultivation when she left this
time, so I have no idea what happened. With her personality, she would’ve never
left without a reason. I am a bit worried.”
Jiang Chen also had no idea why Dan Fei had left. He too had
found it odd. Dan Fei was so filial to the lordmaster, why would she leave
while he was in closed door cultivation?
Jiang Chen was absolutely befuddled by the lordmaster’s
words.
He’d naturally understood her letter. That short letter had
been her confession of love to him.
However, he still didn’t understand. Even if she did have
feelings for Jiang Chen, it hadn’t seemed like she needed to leave the
lordmaster.
When he recalled his various experiences with her, Jiang
Chen sighed lightly as well. No matter from what angle one looked at things,
Dan Fei was a perfect match for a man.
Apart from being somewhat prideful, it could be said that
she fulfilled all of a man’s fantasies.
However, some destiny was needed in the matters between a
man and a woman. Jiang Chen had always had a gentlemanly attitude when
interacting with her. His thoughts had never drifted in that direction.
When he thought that Dan Fei’s departure might have
something to do with him, Jiang Chen naturally hoped in his heart that
everything was alright for her, and that no accidents would befall her.
When he saw that the conversation had taken a slight
downturn, the lordmaster changed the topic. “Jiang Chen, it’s a factor of
change for the sixteen kingdom alliance now that you’ve joined the Precious
Tree Sect. In this way, you’ll also walk towards the light from the shadows.
There will be countless pairs of eyes on you from this moment forth. You should
be prepared.”
Jiang Chen smiled slightly and nodded, “Is it not the same
for you, lordmaster?”
Ye Chonglou laughed heartily, “That is true.”
But he immediately sighed softly afterwards. “It’s a pity
that the position of the sixteen kingdom alliance in the Myriad Domain is still
fraught with peril. Although you and I have entered the Precious Tree Sect, I
have no insight into where the path ahead of us leads. Jiang Chen, you’re still
young. I see in you a kind of potential, a potential that will change the
times.”
“You and the Purple Sun Sect are like fire and water now.
With my understanding of old monster Sunchaser, he will never be willing to
take things lying down. I’m afraid this matter is not over.”
Ye Chonglou rather dreaded Sunchaser. This was a madman with
a narrow mind. He would always take revenge for slights toward himself.
With the Purple Sun Sect’s domineering style in the sixteen
kingdom alliance, they would never just silently take the loss after such an
enormous humiliation.
“The lordmaster voices my thoughts. There must be a
conclusion to matters with the Purple Sun Sect sooner or later. There is no
benefit to further thought, what I can do is train hard.”
Ye Chonglou complimented Jiang Chen upon hearing this,
“Absolutely! It’s rare for a young man to be neither proud nor impatient. I
will protect you no matter what, even if I have to put my life on the line. I
will shelter you before you grow into your strength. Do you know? What I am
looking forward to the most now is seeing how far you’ll go!”
Ye Chonglou was viewing Jiang Chen as one of his own juniors
now. Jiang Chen’s position in his heart wasn’t the least bit inferior to Dan
Fei’s.
It wasn’t only because Jiang Chen had given him pointers and
helped him enter the origin realm, more importantly, the lordmaster saw in
Jiang Chen an unfathomable potential.
He suddenly took out an item from his storage ring.
“Jiang Chen, this is a Divine Fruit of the Rosy Dawn,
produced by the Precious Tree of the Rosy Dawn. It flowers one red fruit every
hundred years, a blue fruit every three hundred years, and a purple fruit every
six hundred. This is a hundred year red fruit. Forefather Thousandleaf gave it
to me upon my return. He gave me two that day, and I give one to you, saving
the other for Dan Fei. In my heart, you and Dan Fei are as if children by my
knees. This hundred year red fruit can help you advance another step forward in
the spirit realm.”
The Precious Tree Sect was called such because they had a
treasured tree within the sect named the Precious Tree of the Rosy Dawn. It was
roughly three thousand meters tall and covered an area of approximately 66
hectares.
The Precious Tree Sect was founded for this tree, and
maintained its fortunes because the tree was still standing.
The Divine Fruit of the Rosy Dawn was exceedingly precious.
It only produced thirty fruits, of which ten had to be harvested in the red
fruit stage, another ten in the blue fruit stage, and the rest had a chance to
mature into purple fruit.
A duration of six hundred years was necessary to complete
one flowering cycle.
Therefore, those two red fruits were not to be dismissed.
They were the result the accumulation of hundred years.
Jiang Chen hadn’t thought that the lordmaster would gift him
such a valuable present. When he heard the sincerity in the lordmaster’s voice
and how he mentioned Jiang Chen in the same breath as Dan Fei, a warm current
flowed through his heart.
The lordmaster was a frank and forthright person. His
affection and protectiveness of Jiang Chen were not a facade. After all, the
lordmaster had even erupted in open hostilities with the Iron family in the
Skylaurel Kingdom back in the day.
And now, he was gifting Jiang Chen this Divine Fruit. Jiang
Chen possessed the innocent heart of a child in both his past and present life.
He naturally understood that there was no falsehood in the lordmaster’s
regards.
This fruit encompassed the love, protectiveness,
expectations, attentiveness, and all other sorts of sentiments that the
lordmaster had towards Jiang Chen. This filled Jiang Chen’s heart and moved him
beyond all measure.
Chapter 430: The Iron Family Submits
The lordmaster was the epitome of dashing grace as he
laughed heartily after pressing the fruit into Jiang Chen’s hand and then
drifted away.
“Jiang Chen, all resources are available to you in the
Precious Tree Sect. I am but adding brilliance to your present splendor.
Continue training! There are still roughly seven days to the induction
ceremony. I hope you will appear on it with an even stronger posture.”
The lordmaster came and left as he would. This was also to
prevent putting Jiang Chen under any psychological pressure.
Jiang Chen knew that the lordmaster was acting like this on
purpose. This weighty gift was no superfluous item.
Jiang Chen had also heard of the Precious Tree of the Rosy
Dawn.
However, forefather Thousandleaf hadn’t mentioned the fruit
of this tree to him in the days that he’d entered the sect. It was obvious that
this resource wasn’t something that a young man, even one such as Jiang Chen,
could commandeer.
The lordmaster had gifted him even the Divine Fruit of Rosy
Dawn, how was this possibly just mere added grace? This was absolutely a
precious gift.
Jiang Chen’s gaze flickered as he looked at the fruit that
was so red, it seemed to be glowing. What he lacked most at this moment were
resources like this.
“It looks like joining the Precious Tree Sect was a truly
wise decision. With the lordmaster’s personality, the fact that he has returned
to old grazing pastures in the Precious Tree Sect is surely because he wishes
to be my protector. The lordmaster’s intentions were very touching.
With Jiang Chen’s knowledge of the lordmaster, he would’ve
never returned to the sect without reason after he’d left. His return was more
than likely a reflection of his desire to pave the way for Jiang Chen.
“The lordmaster values me so highly. I naturally cannot
forget this debt of gratitude. Perhaps I should seek out some opportunities to
repay his kindness.”
It wasn’t that Jiang Chen was arrogant—he did have many ways
to help the lordmaster. It was that he’d purposefully held back at times in
order not to make too many stunning and shocking moves.
This was because if he wanted to help the lordmaster,
whatever he took out would be an enormous feat that was sure to shock and awe.
Therefore, he’d always exercised quite a bit of restraint
and had almost never made a move unless a chance cropped up by coincidence. He
also made his moves with utmost skill and caution.
Like when he’d resolved the issue of the Five Winged
Phoenix-Dragon for instance, or that time when he’d written down his thoughts
on cultivating spirit creatures, or when he’d given the lordmaster pointers to
breaking through to the origin realm.
Jiang Chen had done all of that very cautiously to prevent
himself from coming across as too out of this world.
He flung up the Divine Fruit of Rosy Dawn in his hand and
decided to make good use of it. It could help a cultivator unequivocally break
through to another level in the spirit realm. It was more than your typical
beneficial item.
“My cultivation is now at the peak of the eighth level
spirit realm. If I take this fruit, does that mean I can immediately set foot
into the peak of the ninth level?”
Jiang Chen was greatly moved when his thoughts traveled
here.
The temptation of the ninth level spirit realm made him urge
to try.
Although there were seven or so days left until the
induction ceremony, Jiang Chen still decided to give it a try. If the Divine
Fruit of Rosy Dawn was as legendary as rumored, then this time would be plenty
enough.
He summoned his followers when his thoughts traveled here.
“Gouyu, you’re now third level spirit realm and there is
much room for you to improve. I have a batch of Fire Raven cores here. It
should be enough for you to break through to the sky spirit realm. Some other
resources you’ll need are also here as well.”
“Xue Tong, your path is different from Gouyu. The Fire Raven
cores are unsuitable for you. I’ve prepared some pills for you and some spirit
essence distilled from spirit medicines. They will all be extremely useful for
your training.”
“Qiao Shan, Qiao Chuan, Guo Jin, and Wen Ziqi, I’ve prepared
a gift for each of you. All of you take a Five Dragons Opening Heavens Pill and
break through to the spirit realm first.”
Jiang Chen had also grown aware that the strength of his
followers needed to improve. Otherwise, if great disruptions really occurred in
the Myriad Domain, it wouldn’t do to be without sufficient strength.
He announced that he was entering closed door cultivation
after making all of his arrangements.
The only people unhappy ever since Ye Chonglou and Jiang
Chen had announced joining the Precious Tree Sect was the Iron family.
The Iron family and their confidantes quickly realized that
the atmosphere within the sect had changed. The senior levels that had close
relationships with them before suddenly distanced themselves.
Apart from a few neutral senior executives, the previous
situation in the sect had been one of the Xie family and the Iron family being
equally matched rivals to each other.
Yet in a short few days, everyone apart from the Iron
family’s lineal branches all seemed to form an accord and deliberately estrange
themselves from the Iron family.
It was obvious that no one was dumb and all could see the
awkward situation that the Iron family was in now. The forefather had been
dissatisfied with their performance to begin with.
They were also sworn rivals of the Xie family, not to
mention the past conflicts that new members Ye Chonglou and Jiang Chen had had
with them.
The two strongest forces in the Precious Tree Sect were
enemies with the entire Iron family. Given the circumstances, the decline of
the Iron family was a foregone conclusion.
Elder Iron Long gave a long sigh within the Iron family’s
headquarters, his face appeared aged and resigned.
Iron Dazhi was like a gamecock that had lost the fight. His
head trailed as he was in low spirits. He’d perceptively realized over the past
couple of days that he’d lost the feeling of superiority of being able to
summon the wind and call for rain as he was able to previously.
The sect geniuses who’d always called him “Brother Iron”
also began avoiding his presence.
“A petty villain glorifying in his success, truly a petty
villain becoming triumphant!” Only Iron Can seemed very unwilling to accept
this outcome. “Jiang Chen is but a country bumpkin, what right does he have to
climb on top of our heads? Why are the heavens this unfair? Our Iron family has
a thousand years worth of heritage, is a country bumpkin to lord it over us
like this?”
Iron Can gritted his teeth outraged, injustice suffusing his
tone.
Iron Long glared angrily, “Shut up! Aren't you the cause of all
of our troubles? Would this be the situation today had you been able to keep
Yang Zhao and Lu Wuji under control? Perhaps Jiang Chen would even be in our
camp! How do you not say that you’re not good enough to accomplish anything,
but more than enough to spoil things?”
Iron Long felt rage grow whenever he looked at Iron Can.
Even Iron Long had accepted things wholeheartedly now that
things had progressed to this point, whereas that trash Iron Can was still
running his mouth. This incensed Iron Long, making him deeply disappointed that
his son didn’t live up to his expectations.
When he thought about it, Jiang Chen’s various grudges and
conflicts with the Iron family had arisen because of Lu Wuji. And Lu Wuji
happened to be the nephew of Iron Can’s woman.
If Iron Can had been slightly stricter with Lu Wuji, would
Lu Wuji have dared act so wildly? Would Lu Wuji have offended Jiang Chen to the
point where relations couldn’t be salvaged?
Therefore, everyone else had the right to speak about Jiang
Chen, Iron Can alone did not.
Iron Long huffed out angrily and turned to look at the
motionless Lian Canghai. He was Iron Long’s true disciple and once the first
within the sect.
“Canghai, you trained with Jiang Chen in the same quadrant.
What do you think of him?”
Lian Canghai’s mouth was filled with a bitter taste when he
recalled the past matters. He’d originally been completely dismissive of Jiang
Chen, noticeably underestimating this secular genius.
And now, Jiang Chen’s momentum was set in stone, but he’d
tragically discovered that he was unable to become closer to Jiang Chen because
of his master’s stance.
However, Lian Canghai still responded to his master’s
question carefully. “When Jiang Chen was farming points in the sky quadrant,
I’d thought him one to employ trickery and be opportunistic—someone who
wouldn’t amount to much. It was only when he barged into the meeting of the
most high by himself that I realized that no matter in terms of bravery or
strength, this person was bound to rise up. To be able to defeat two of Master
Shuiyue’s top disciples in a row means that his rise wasn’t a fluke. In
addition, it’s said that he even killed an expert like Master Shuiyue in the
Shangyang Kingdom. It isn’t that I wish to bolster another’s prestige, but it’s
truly unsuitable to become enemies with him.”
Iron Long sighed softly. He too knew that Jiang Chen wasn’t
someone to be enemies with. However, given how things were now, was there hope
for the two parties to be reconciled?
Black lines of ill temper descended down Iron Can’s face
when he heard this. “Canghai, don’t you think your words help the enemy too
much and should go against your conscience?”
Lian Canghai was Iron Long’s true disciple, and so his
seniority wasn’t lower than Iron Can’s. His brows arched when he saw Iron Can
thus out of line and he snorted derisively. “Go against my conscience? Elder
Iron, isn’t this hyperbole? Everyone is now part of the Precious Tree Sect,
could it be that Elder Iron thinks that the Iron family should fight to the
death with Jiang Chen? Forgive my bluntness, but your thoughts will push the
Iron family into a bottomless abyss.”
Although Lian Canghai was young, he wasn’t the least bit
inferior to Iron Can in terms of identity, status, and strength.
Therefore, he didn’t give Iron Can any face when he acted so
wildly.
Iron Long slammed his hand on the table and glared
ferociously at Iron Can, “Iron Can, if you continue to refuse to see the error
of your ways, then don’t blame me for destroying you with one palm for the
future of the family!”
“Dazhi, you’re my lineal grandson. You tell me, how should
my Iron family should interact with Jiang Chen?”
Although Iron Dazhi’s personality was also domineering, he
differed from the narrow-minded Iron Can. He knew when to advance and when to
retreat, he knew what the bigger picture was.
He laughed ruefully, “Grandfather, I used to hate Jiang Chen
very much, but now I feel I don’t even have the right to hate him. Think about
it, he’s younger than me, but has already killed three elders of the Purple Sun
Sect. In his eyes, even our entire Iron family is likely nothing, much less me.
I rather think that if our Iron family is to survive, there’s nothing
humiliating about lowering our posture and asking to reconcile with him. With
the momentum of his rise, the Precious Tree Sect will be unable to keep him
sooner or later, but our Iron family must forever remain in the sect.”
Even Lian Canghai was slightly astonished by Iron Dazhi’s
words and revised his opinion of the latter.
It looked like failure wasn’t a bad thing for some people.
It looked like Iron Dazhi had matured quite a bit after
several setbacks and failures. He could actually analyze the bigger picture and
come to this conclusion.
Lian Canghai also nodded. “Dazhi’s words make great sense. If
Jiang Chen truly rises, the sect is but a small temple in the end and cannot
keep him. If he does not, then the Purple Sun Sect is first in line to wish to
destroy him, what need is there for the Iron family to make a move? Therefore,
no matter from what angle we pursue things from, there is no reason for the
Iron family to continue being at odds with him. We should go along with the
flow for survival and make peace with him, and even with the Xie family. This
will show those both within and outside of the sect that the Iron family can
see the larger issues!”
Iron Long was delighted by these words. He could tell from
them that Lian Canghai and Iron Dazhi had truly grown up. They were thousands
of times better than that good-for-nothing Iron Can.
“Good, I am much gratified that Canghai and Dazhi hold these
opinions. What face can our Iron family not put down for the sect? If Jiang
Chen rises, the Precious Tree Sect is sure to benefit and so we must reconcile
with him beforehand.”
Iron Long had been of this mind to begin with, and now that
Iron Dazhi and Lian Canghai’s words had paved the way, it was much easier to
make this decision.
